Twilight discovers a universe jumping spell, but ends up getting stuck in one that she calls #63
Twilight prepared for her spell. Hopefully the next universe would be more pleasant and would not contain Timberwolves ruling Equestria. The spell was cast, and she found herself some where very dark. Where was she?
Twilight Sparkle was a very studious pony. It was very difficult to find her at a time when she was not immersed in a book or complicated spell. Today was no different than what you would expect, or at least, it started out no different than expected. Twilight was sitting in the library, surrounded by books, her eyes scanning the one currently held in her telekinetic grip.
Now, I must tell you, Twilight had been reading all night. Not a single bit of sleep. Spike had been worried that she would work herself too hard and end up in bed for a couple days. It had happened before. Right now, though, the little whelpling of a dragon was fast asleep in his bed, and had been like that for several hours.
As Twilight was reaching the end of this particular book, something caught her eye. A spell. She read through the introductory paragraph, which stated that this spell, whatever it was, was only to be attempted by a highest level unicorn. Twilight grinned. This would be the perfect spell to test herself on how much her magic had improved. Sure, that telekinetic speech spell was difficult, but this is going to be a true challenge. Twilight read through the spell and took in every detail. The spell was not imprinted on her mind. As she prepared to cast it, a wave of sleepiness washed over her.
The purple unicorn sighed, "Maybe some sleep would be good first..." She dropped the open book on the floor of the library and went up to her room, "And maybe I should get Spike to clean up in here first." She trotted up the stairs and laid down on he bed just as the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. Spike woke up, and looked over at Twilight's now sleeping form.
"So she did get some sleep last night?" he asked himself, "Funny. I thought she'd still be awake." The baby dragon shrugged. "Oh, well. Better go make breakfast." Twilight's hardworking, number one assistant set out to make some scrambled eggs with dandelion toast.
"Well, you seemed really tired, so I ate breakfast and cleaned up the library. Then, I didn't have anything to do, so I started making lunch..." Twilight glanced at the mass of food on the table. "I was hoping you could invite some friends over for lunch. There's plenty of food."
"Uh, yeah..." Twilight mumbled, "I'll go do that..." She trotted out the door and went to find her closest friends. It wasn't hard. She knew exactly where they liked to hang out, so finding the was a breeze. Pinkie Pie had said yes right away, and the others had all agreed as well. They headed back to the library.
"Oh, Spikey Wikey!" Rarity cooed as she saw the food, "I didn't know that you could cook! This looks positively delicious." The ivory unicorn sat down at the table and admired Spike's culinary talent.
"Yer right, Rarity," Applejack agreed, "It does look mighty tasty." They all sat down at the table and enjoyed the food Spike had prepared. It was as delicious as it had looked. The little dragon was very proud of himself, and everypony could tell.
"Well, thank ya kindly for lunch, you two," Applejack said as the meal ended. The others agreed and left to continue their routine for the day. Twilight waited, slightly anxious, as they left, getting very excited about the spell she was going to try today. As soon as the door was closed, she zipped into the main part of the library, pulling the book she had been reading from its shelf.
"What are you doing, Twilight?" Spike asked.
"This is a spell written a long, long time ago by Starswirl the Bearded. It doesn't say what it does exactly, but if I can perform it, I'll know for sure. I want you to read up about it, in case something goes wrong and I need to counteract it or something. Think you can handle that, my number one assistant?" Spike gave her a salute. "Good. Now, here goes..." A purple glow surrounded her horn as an indication that she was starting the spell.
"Come on, Twilight! You can do it!" Spike cheered. The glow around Twilight's horn grew brighter and expanded out slightly. Twilight closed her eyes and grimaced. The spell became brighter and brighter, the aura of the spell being cast upon Twilight herself. A seemingly solid purple sphere of magic surrounded Twilight. With a popping noise, it disappeared. "Twilight?!" Spike called. No answer. "T-Twilight...?"
Twilight stumbled as she reappeared. She looked around. Had she done it wrong? She was still in the library. Everything looked the same except...where was Spike? "Spike?" she called, "SPIIIIIKE?" Spikes footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. He stopped when he saw Twilight.
"Twilight, what did you-" he froze as he took a good look at her, "W-what did you do to your mane?" Twilight cocked her head in confusion.
"What do you mean? This is how my mane always looks." Spike walked towards her slowly. He reached a hand up to her forehead. She flinched away.
"Are you feeling alright, Twilight?" the little dragon asked. She raised an eyebrow.
"Of course! I was just trying out that new spell..." Twilight looked around the library. The book was on its shelf again. She levitated it over to herself. "This one right here." Spike seemed to recognize the spell and he frowned.
"Oh."
"Oh?" Twilight asked, "What do you mean 'oh'?" Spike shifted uncomfortably.
"Twilight, you were going to try this spell out about a month ago, but we asked the Princess if she knew what it was first. She told us it was a very unstable Universe Hopping spell, and that if we used it, it could be hard to get back to our own universe." Twilight blinked.
"You mean...I'm in another universe?" Spike nodded, "So...so there's another me here? Wow! Where is she?" Twilight ran towards her favorite studying place just as the door opened.
"Spike! I'm back!" yelled a Twilight with neatly curled hair. She caught sight on Twilight, the one with straight hair, and stopped dead. "What? How?"
"I can explain, m-Twilight," the straight haired Twilight said. The other Twilight just stared at her. It made Twilight very uncomfortable.
"Who...who are you?" The Twilight with curls asked. The other Twilight refrained from rolling her eyes or stomping in frustration. She remained as calm and collected as she could.
"I thought that was simple," she said, "After all, who else in all of Equestria would have the exact same color scheme and the exact same cutie mark as you, with the only real difference between us being the way we style out manes."
"My...twin?" The universe jumping Twilight sighed and shook her head.
"No. I'm not your twin. You of all ponies should be well informed that even twin ponies don't usually have the same cutie marks," the straight-maned Twilight paused for a dramatic effect, "I'm you."
"WHAT?" The reaction from the other Twilight was a bit unnerving to the time jumping one. She wouldn't have freaked out like that, would she? "So, are you from the future or something?"
"No, I'm from another universe." Twilight proceeded to tell her alternate universe self everything that had happened. She finished with, "...and I'm going to call this universe #1, or universe 1." The curly maned Twilight blinked, slightly confused. "I was talking to Spike, your Spike, and he said that I might find it difficult to get back. Do you know why?"
"I never thought that I would've been able to pull that spell off in the first place but... Well, I think Celestia said that when you jump form one universe to another, you attach onto your magical signature in the other universe. It's the easiest to do, and when you do that, you can tell which universe is which because each of you will have a slightly different magical signature. Since you do not currently exist inside your own universe, it will be more difficult for you to get back." Curls-Twilight though for a second. "I would suggest that you keep hopping, and see if any others of us have an idea of what to do. You can always come back to this one by locking onto my magical signature." The time jumping unicorn nodded.
"Okay. I'll come back here if I can't find any help." Twilight Sparkle ran a hoof through her straight hair, wondering how she could've chosen the hairstyle of the other her. She powered up her spell, the purple magic sphere encompassing her entirely. With a pop, she was gone.
The curly-maned Twilight sighed, "I hope I know what I'm doing..." She turned to her Spike, her mood instantly lightening, "Wow, Spike. If she can pull this off and get home, think of how this could benefit all of Equestria."
Twilight had never figured that there would be so many variations of herself. Extremely lanky Twilights where spells gone awry had altered her growth. Twilights who wore glasses or contacts or refused corrective lenses to resist the teasing. There were even several Twilghts who'd dyed their manes. Every Twilight seemed so much different, but why? Shouldn't their be Twilights from universes where the only difference was what she had for breakfast? Maybe she just hadn't found them yet.
The ever organized unicorn had taken to numbering them. Obviously, to her, her own universe was Control. The others were all variables of her life as well as everypony else's. #49 had had a Twilight with a different cutie mark. It was similar to her own, but it was blue and green and was lacking in the number of stars around it. Control Twilight's cutie mark had five. #49 Twilight's cutie mark had two.
Universe #53 had found her in a bit of trouble. She found herself in her library...but it was on fire. She had put it out instantly, but suddenly realized that she shouldn't have interfered so much in this Twilight's life. The pony, who's hair was less kept and a little longer than Control Twilight's, had been trying to magic buckets of water over to the blazing inferno. She must have missed a few spells in the book.
"W-w-what? Who are you?" #53 Twilight asked. Control Twilight ushered the perplexed alternate version of herself into the library. She explained the situation, and the still stunned Twilight told her that, unfortunately, she didn't know of anything that Control Twilight could do. The universe jumping pony, who felt worn out from all of the universe hopping, searched for #1 Twilight's universe to rest up. The curly haired her jumped in surprise.
"You're back! I was wondering if you were going to pay me another visit," she said, obviously happy. Control Twilight smiled tiredly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Control Twilight nodded, "Just tired. That spell takes it out on a pony when you do it a lot. I'm surprised I held out as long as I did." Curly-maned Twilight nodded, somewhat knowingly.
"How many?" The other Twilight didn't even have to specify what she was talking about.
"Fifty three," Control Twilight replied. She jumped as #1 Twilight gasped. "What? What's wrong with that?"
"Fifty three? Celestia said that that was a high end spell! Only to be cast by the most skilled of unicorns, and even then only a few times at a time..." The Twilight with the curly mane was thoughoughly impressed. She rubbed a hoof against her chin. "I wonder if I could do it that many times..." Control Twilight rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure you could, but..." Control Twilight yawned, "...could we talk about it later? I'm kinda tired." The curly haired Twilight nodded.
"Of course." Control Twilight snuggled into the guest bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. Sighing contentedly, the worn out purple unicorn burrowed deeper in until only her ears and some stray hair peeked above the covers. She snored softly, making the other Twilight cover her ears from where she lay on her own bed. Eventually, both Twilights were dreaming peacefully.
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As our Twilight awoke the next morning, she found that some things never seem to change, and she found that one of those things was Pinkie Pie. The party pony of this universe was standing next to her when she opened her eyes. Before the pink pony could say anything, Twilight covered her mouth with a purple hoof. "Hello, Pinkie Pie. Please, no parties. I probably will be leaving again soon."
"I know! That's why I'm here. I knew you were here last night because I sneezed and then my ears flopped and then my hooves ached. That means somepony from an alternate dimension is here. Then, this morning, my skin felt crawly, which meant that someone is leaving the universe today, so I came to say good bye." Typical Pinkamina Diane Pie. Always so random.
"Uh...okay, Pinkie. Thanks." The earth pony grinned and hopped away. Control Twilight rolled her eyes, sighing. #1 Twilight was still asleep. Twilight considered waking her up, but decided against it. She wrote a note and left it on the bed:
Dear me,
Thanks for letting me stay tonight, I really appreciate it. I might be back again before I find a way home, but if I'm not, I'll be sure to visit sometime. Thanks again.
Sincerely yourself, Twilight
Satisfied, Twilight prepped for her spell. Fifty three down, an infinite number of possibilities to go.
Twilight found no solutions to her problem in the next seven jumps. By the eighth, she was getting a little frustrated. This Twilight was just like her in every aspect, except for one little thing. She wasn't Celestia's student. She was Luna's. Apparently, the Celestia of this universe had been the corrupted one. And despite that, this Twilight was still one of the ones most similar to our Twilight. She had the same friends, they had just united against Nightmare Flare instead of Nightmare Moon.
"I'm sorry that I can't help you." #61 Twilight said apologetically. Control Twilight shrugged.
"It's not your fault." She took a step towards the other her. "What's it like? What does Luna teach you?" #61 Twilight laughed and refused to tell her. Maybe another time, after she was over the idea of herself being taught by Celestia. "I should keep going. I need to find a way to get back. I hope my friends aren't too worried about me." Another Twilight to come back to. As long as she could get back, Control Twilight was going to have a lot to tell her mentor about this spell.
Another jump found our Twilight in a dark place. A very dark place. She found that she was sitting inside what seemed to just be the empty hollow of a rather large tree. Why was there no library here? It had obviously never been built. She looked out of a crack in the aged wood. Ponyville was there, but it wasn't as colorful. This was a dark, dreary place. "Hello?"
"Who are you?" The voice startled her. It came from behind. She whirled around, coming face to face with herself. #62 Twilight stared at her with one eye. The other was covered by an eyepatch. Her hair was unkempt and ragged, and her eyes showed of an unpeaceful existence. "A-are you...me?"
The nod that our Twilight gave her seemed inadequate. "What are you doing in here? Why is everything so...dark?" The one-eyed unicorn looked at her, slightly surprised.
"You don't know? H-how can you not know about the...the timberwolves..." Control Twilight cocked her head, confused.
"I know what they are. Why? Are they roaming free in Ponyville? Hasn't somepony contacted the princess yet?" #62 Twilight stared at her blankly. "So, I take it, Princess Celestia doesn't know about this?" One-eyed Twilight looked down at the ground.
"I don't know where you're from, but P-Princess Celestia hasn't ruled Equestria since Nightmare Moon. We defeated Luna's evil self, but the timberwolves had already invaded by the time Celestia returned from the s-s-sun. They used some form of black magic to l-lower Celestia and Luna's powers. They both wander from town to town, not wanting to stay in one place too long or the t-timberwolves will target it." Control Twilight sat back on her haunches, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"I am so sorry. I didn't know." The thought of a timberwolf run Equestria made her shiver. "I'm from another universe where nothing ended this way. I wish I could help you, but I don't know how. I really wish--" #62 Twilight shoved a hoof in her mouth.
"Sh-sh-shut up!" she whispered, "They're here. They'll hear you." Both Twilights looked out the crack in the tree's bark. A whole squadron of timberwolves filled the street that they could see. Control Twilight nearly screamed. "Be as quiet as y-you can. In a moment, they'll be close enough to hear even w-w-whispers." Control Twilight nodded, wondering for a moment about her other self's speech impediment. They sat in silence for a minute. Suddenly, Control Twilight tapped the messy-maned Twilight on the shoulder. #62 shook her head vigorously, indicating for her to wait a minute.
Control Twilight pressed a hoof against her nose. #62 Twilight seemed to realize what was going on and her eyes widened. With a silent flash, a tissue appeared, and Control Twilight tried to press it against her snout. #62 Twilight watched as the other Twilight's breath hitched dangerously, knowing that there was nothing she could do.
"HaaaaaTCHOO!"
The howl of the timberwolves was far too close for comfort. As the universe hopping Twilight prepared to jump herself to safety, she looked over at the other her. There was very little chance of her not getting caught. Grabbing the other her's hoof, she teleported back to universe 1. The dense magic sphere encompassed them both. She hoped the other Twilight wouldn't mind going to the other universe, though she figured that was better than staying here.
Universe 1's Twilight was dusting the bookshelves. "Ah!" She cried as a flash produced two more of herself. #62 Twilight jumped up instantly, taking note of the library and the additional Twilight. "Twilight? What's this then? Another me? What am I supposed to do with two more of me?"
Our Twilight started to explain. "Sorry, I blew her hiding place and...an-...ah...haaTCHOO! sniff! I couldn't leave her there." Universe 1's Twilight was concerned for her sniffly alternate self.
"Are you alright?
"Fine, it was just some musty air and d-d---ah-....ah-....dust. HaTCHOO!" The thoroughly sneezy Twilight rubbed her snout. "Ugh...excuse me. Do you mind if she stays, if she wants to, that is. I kinda didn't ask." The one-eyed Twilight said that she was glad to be here, instead of being torn apart by timberwolves. The curly haired Twilight shivered at the thought and considered the raggedy Twilight for a moment.
"It's fine with me. I don't know how exactly Celestia will react to having another student, but I'm sure she'd allow it." She took the one-eyed Twilight towards the door. "A little corrective healing spell should do wonders for your eye, Twilight. Hmm...do you think you would mind changing your name to something less...exactly like mine?" Our Twilight watched them go and prepped for her spell, hoping that the next jump would be much more pleasant.
"Number 63, here I come. Oh, please have some answers for me." She powered up her spell, calculating in her head that she should have plenty of magic left for a few more jumps and the jump back here, if she needed it.
As she appeared in universe 63, she could see nothing. It was pitch black. She felt boxes stacked up around her in the dark area. She was scared that this might be another evil ruler universe until she realized that she could hear laughter and singing. So, not evil, probably. She found a door and let her eyes adjust to the darkness for a minute. She was in a tiny storage room full of boxes of...books! Smiling a little, she fondly patted one of the boxes.
"No, Spines. I need to study. Solaris is expecting me to be at my best." That sounded like a stallion... Who's Spines? Twilight never knew anyone like that. In what universe--
A feeling hit Twilight. It was reminiscent of pain at first. She almost cried out. As that part of it passed, she was left with the feeling of being magically drained. Her eyes widened in panic. She knew this feeling. Celestia had done this to her once so she could recognize it. If she tried to overexert herself, she would probably not only fail the spell, but end up feeling physically ill as well. She couldn't use her spell! She was stuck.
But who had attacked her magic? And why? What this universe hostile? Was Spines some sort of secret agent who'd attacked her magic to weaken her and then--
Well! That certainly was not going to happen! She would just lay low here in the closet until she could figure out a way to get her magic to full strength again.
"Spines, I'm going to be in the library tonight. I have some stuff that I need to look at." Ponyfeathers. Twilight was going to have to be really quiet if she didn't want to get caught.
She could read books, she figured. It would pass that time, and it was quiet. She picked one up and blew the dust off of the cover. A tingly sensation assaulted her nose. If she hadn't already had a problem with sneezes today, this wouldn't be happening, but naturally, she had had trouble with sneezing already today...
"HaaaaaTCHMPH! HaaaaTCHMPH!!" She tried to soften the explosive sound of her sneezes, but it didn't really help. Curse it! Curse it! Curse it! There was no way that she was going undetected. And, not to her surprise, the door to the storage room opened. The magenta shade that was often associated with Twilight's own magic surrounded it, but the pony on the other side was not Twilight. Well, she knew that it was, but...
"Uh, hello...What are you doing in my storage closet?" The voice she had heard had been this...this colt version of herself. Crawling out of the dusty little room, Twilight unleashed a few more explosive sounding sneezes.
"HaaTCHOO! HaaaaaTCHMPH!! HaTCHMPH!!" Stifling them seemed to do little to damper the extremely loud sneezes. The colt Twilight backed away slightly.
"Are...Are you okay?" She nodded, rubbing her snout a bit sheepishly. He levitated over a box of tissues. "Jeez, I didn't think anypony else had sneezes that loud..." Twilight smiled.
"They don't."
"What?" The colt version of her looked at Twilight incredulously.
"The nature of certain involuntary actions of unicorns is based primarily on the level of magic in their reserves," Twilight explained, "Therefor, actions such as sneezing, coughing, or hiccuping are more accentuated or frequent in ponies with large magical reserves. Such actions are often used to measure a unicorn's magic, but they are not completely accurate, and give only a suggestion. No actual measurements. Such a thing has always been present in unicorns."
"I'm afraid I don't understand. You are just also a very powerful unicorn, or at least, that's what I'm getting out of this..."
"You, Mr., are the Element of Magic, correct?" A nod. "And thus, having such magical capabilities to be able to wield the Element must mean that only the Princesses could possibly match or go over your limits. So how could another pony have as strong of sneezes as you if you should be the only mortal pony with such magical strength?" The colts eyes widened.
"Wait a minute... Are you saying...?"
"I am Twilight Sparkle. Student to Princess Celestia and wielder of the Element of Magic." She struck a regal pose, trying to sound as though she hadn't just been hiding in his closet. The image, however, was interrupted with another explosively loud sneeze. "HaaaaTCHMPH!!"
"Bless you..." He paused, "Twilight Sparkle." He looked her up and down fora moment before continuing. "I am Dusk Shine. Student to Prince Solaris and wielded of the Element of Magic." He sat down on his haunches. "Wow...Where did you come from?"
"I came from another....ano-...anahh-....haaaaaTCHMPH!! Excuse me..." Twilight blushed, "I came from another universe."
"Do they...not have dust in your universe?" The crimson tint in Twilight's cheeks deepened.
"Allergies." Dusk snorted at this.
"You live in a library. You have to dust the books. Isn't that hard on you?"
"Well, it isn't usually a problem with the dust, but I was in this really musty place earlier today, it was probably rotting, and it got to me." Dusk was nodding in understanding.
"Oh, I see. So now everything bothers it?" Twilight nodded. "Well, then I suggest taking a shower. You're covered in dust." Twilight blushed even deeper and tried to shake some of it off, only achieving a dust cloud around herself and Dusk.
"HaaaaTCHMPH!!" Twilight covered her snout with her hooves to cover the sneeze and realized she hadn't been the only one. "HaaaaaaaaTCHMPH!!!" Dusk's eyes had tears in the corners and he was rubbing his snout with a tissue.
"Heh, this usually doesn't happen..." he said, blushing.
"I know. That's what I was just telling you."
"Right, so...I expect that you can find the shower? I'll let you go first." Twilight nodded.
"Thanks, it'll be good to get some of this dust off of me, though I'm sure the shower won't be too easy on my sinuses either... Oh well." She trotted up the stairs to the shower. Dusk smiled, watching her go, and started up the stairs a minute later. He wanted to hear if she was going to have the same water difficulties as he knew he would today, or maybe even worse. She sounded like she'd been sneezing like that for a while. Dusk knew how that felt...bad.
After a long time, which consisted mostly of trying to stifle sneezing while the shower was running, Twilight emerged from the bathroom with a soft, clean coat and perfectly organized mane. Dusk took in the image of...himself. Wow. He looked pretty good as a mare...
Twilight waited in the library as Dusk showered, but her deprivation of magic reserves seemed to sap the remaining energy she had. She laid her head down on the floor of the library and was snoring softly by the time Dusk came back downstairs. "Wow...she must've been exhausted. Casting a spell like that must really wear you down. I wonder if it's in any of my books..." The studious colt sat down and started going through his spell books, hoping to find the one that mentioned such a spell.
When Twilight awoke, she was a little disoriented. She found herself in a library so similar to her own, yet she knew that they were not the same. A colt lay sleeping amongst a pile of books. Oh...she was still in the colt universe...
And her magic still felt so weak. It would be potentially disastrous for her to attempt to hop out of this universe. How was she supposed to get home now? Maybe she should try something, anything really. She hadn't used her magic since she got here. Focusing her magic, she levitated a book off Dusk Shine's face. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "W-what? what are you-?" he started.
Suddenly, a crackling sound started to emanate from Twilight's horn. With a sharp bang, she was tossed back against the wall. Dusk cried out in alarm. "Twilight!" He went to her side. "Twilight, what happened?" She looked at him dizzily.
"I...just...need a second..." she panted, putting a hoof to her forehead. After her breathing had calmed somewhat, she looked up at him again. "My magic's been tapped... I-...I can't do anything. I can't cast spells at all." Dusk Shine gasped.
"But...who would tap your magic?" he asked, "Who could tap your magic? Doesn't a pony tapping your magic have to be stronger than the pony being tapped?"
"Well, I was pretty magically drained, to be honest... Not to mention the sneezing thing... I suppose somepony could've tapped me in that time." Twilight rubbed her head gingerly.
"But who knew that you were here?" A shout from upstairs interrupted their train of thought. Twilight watched as a female version of Spike came running down the stairs. She stopped and looked at Twilight. "What is it Spines?" Oh, that was Spines.
"Who is-" she stared, "Oh, nevermind. Here." She held out a scroll to Dusk.
"A letter from the Prince!" He unrolled the scroll with his magic and read it aloud, "My faithful student, Dusk. I feel it necessary to inform you that a very powerful unicorn appeared in your vicinity today. I am unsure what its intentions are, but be warned that it could be dangerous. I have tapped this unicorn's magic to keep you safe..." He stopped reading and looked over at his guest, "Oh, Twilight! I am so sorry that this happened! We should go to Solaris ourselves and explain the situation."
"But, how will we go outside like this? We're too similar! Somepony will notice!"
"We could use a spell to make you look different. If anypony asks, you can be my special somepony." Dusk levitated a few books off the shelf, "I know I have a spell here somewhere..." Twilight started pulling off books with her hooves. "Ah! Here it is!" Dusk brushed some dust off the old book.
"HaaTCHMPH!"
"You're still at that? I thought that that only bothered you if you'd already been sneezing, " He eyed Twilight skeptically, "Are you getting sick?"
"No, I just...I jus-...I juh-...huh-...Haah-HaaaTCHMPH!!"
"Bless you."
"Heh, sorry. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep, so I went to do some reading...well...dusty books and such..." Twilight blushed at her colt self. Dusk sighed.
"Well anyway, here's a spell that will make you look different, but it can't change cutie marks. Hopefully that won't be a problem." Twilight looked it over and nodded.
"Alright, but you have to cast it on me. Any spell whatsoever that I cast is just gonna blow up in my face." Dusk nodded to Twilight. She smiled. "And nothing too flashy. I don't want to be too noticeable." Dusk nodded again.
"Naturally. Now, stand still." Twilight stood still as a statue. She knew how important it was to keep still when somepony else is casting spells like this one you. Of course, her nose either didn't know that, or didn't care. It started to itch about halfway through, but Twilight held it in until the spell was done. Once the last tendrils of Dusk's magic, really her own magic if you thought about it, had receded, she stopped holding them back.
"HaaaaaaaTCHMPH! HaaaaTCHMPH!! HaaaTCHOO!" Dusk jumped back in surprise at the onslaught of sneezes.
"Holy Solaris! I hope you don't do that while we're at the castle!" Twilight rubbed her nose and looked at him.
"Well, you know very well that I can't promise anything, but I'll try not to." She looked down at her hoof. Normally, it would be a light purple, but now it was a deep blue, almost black, but you could see the blue in it. She ran to the mirror. The pony that looked back had a silver shimmering mane. "Whoa."
"Do you mind if we say your name is Midnight Shimmer? At least until we're with Solaris."
"Yeah, I guess."
Dusk Shine and Midnight Shimmer, formerly Twilight Sparkle, left the library and headed for the train station. Everypony gawked at them. After all, since when did Dusk Shine hangout with mares? The gossip spread like wildfire all over Ponyville.
The train ride started out okay, but then it went a little sour. A colt with a deep red mane and black coat approached their seat and sat down across from them. The whole train ride, he tried to talk to Twilight.
"What's a pretty mare like you doin' with someone like him?" She tried to ignore him, but he kept talking. "Wouldn't you rather have a real stallion, like me?" Twilight didn't appreciate how this colt was treating Dusk like he wasn't there.
"Well," she replied, anger rising in her, "If you're a real stallion, how come he's got a mare and you don't?" She leaned into Dusk's side.
"Aw, come on, baby. You don't mean that."
"Actually, I was quite sincere in what I just...j-jus-...ju-...huh-...hah-...HaaaaTCHHOOO!!" Twilight sneezed in the colts face. He recoiled in alarm.
"Bless you, babe!"
"Get away from me."
"Aw, come on, you don't-"
"Get. Away. From. Me." The colt cringed at Twilight's harsh tone.
"All right, all right. I'm going. Trains arriving anyway." He trotted away just as the train was coming to a stop.
"Good riddance!" Twilight murmured, "That was horrible!" She trotted along beside Dusk. Even the ponies in Canterlot turned to stare. Of course, everypony knew Dusk Shine.
"Come on. Lets get something to eat before we see the Prince. I'm starving." They went into a little place to get some food, sitting down at a table. When the waiter came they both, quite simultaneously, asked for a daisy and daffodil sandwich. The waiter laughed at this at left to get their food, leaving both of them blushing profusely.
The waiter returned with their food just as Twilight's nose started to itch. She turned from the stallion offering her the plate. "Haaaah-...HaaaaaTCHMPH!!"
"Geshundtight, miss." A tissue was levitated over to her.
"Th-thank you." Twilight blushed deeply, rubbing her nose with the tissue. Her plate was set down in front of her. She and Dusk ate in silence. Dusk paid for the meal, since Twilight had no bits, and they left.
The two approached the castle, and Dusk expected just to be let in. To his surprise, the guards blocked the gate. "Dusk Shine, who is this guest?" Twilight cringed and shrunk back from the guard's spears. Dusk pulled her back up to height.
"This is Midnight Shimmer, a very powerful unicorn that Solaris wishes to speak with. He sent me a letter." The guards narrowed their eyes.
"If this is such a powerful mare, then should she not show us some feat of magic?" Twilight looked over at Dusk. Neither knew what to do. Anything Twilight tried would end in disaster because of the tap.
"Well, you see, I-..." Twilight's nose began to itch, "I-...hiiiiih-...haaaah-...HaaaTCHHOOO!! HaaaTCHMPH!!" The guards jumped, surprised. "S-sorry..." Twilight stammered, "A-allergies." Dusk stepped in of her rescue.
"She has trouble controlling her magic in such times as her allergies are acting up. Even so, you should be able to tell her potential from the power of her sneezes. Have none of you read of measuring unicorn potential?" The guards looked at each other, slightly confused, before clearing a way for Dusk and Twilight. "Thank you." The two trotted through the front doors and their hooves clicked down on the marble flooring.
"Are we going to have to wait to see him, or in he not in Court today?" Twilight asked. Dusk looked over at her.
"There's no Court today. We can go right in." They stopped outside the large golden doors. "You ready?"
"I guess so." They pushed open the heavy doors to Solaris's throne room.
Twilight gasped as she came into the familiar room. Solaris was there, in all his glory. His coat was the same pearly white as Celestia's, and his mane had the same colors, but they were darker, richer, shades. Dusk ran to him. "Prince Solaris!"
"Ah, Dusk Shine. My prized pupil. What brings you to the castle today? Did you receive my letter?"
"Yes, I did. That's why we're here." Solaris seemed to notice Twilight for the first time. He gasped and moved to stand in front of Dusk Shine, his long, slender horn blazing.
"Dusk Shine, do you not know who this is?" Twilight backed away from him, pressing herself against the wall.
"Solaris stop! She's not going to hurt anypony!" Twilight trembled as Solaris approached, his horn still alight.
"That may be what she says, Dusk, but these types can be deceiving." Dusk ran in front of his teacher, shielding Twilight from him.
"Please! Hear me out first!" Dusk turned to Twilight, casting the spell to make her look like herself again. "I know that she is not going to hurt anypony, Solaris." He stood at her side. "She's me."
The solar regent recoiled in alarm. Twilight found it odd for royalty to be surprised. "How is this possible? This mare is Dusk Shine?"
"Well, not exactly. My name is actually Twilight Sparkle, but we are, technically the same pony," she approached Solaris slowly, "I am from another universe where everypony is the opposite gender. I cast a spell to get here, but because my magic has been tapped, I can't cast that spell. Actually, I can't cast any spells..."
"I...I apologize, my little pony. Even I can make mistakes." He looked down in shame for a minute before turning to her again. "You can't cast any spells? None at all?" Twilight shook her head. "Would you mind showing me?"
"Of course, your majesty."
"Just Solaris, Twilight Sparkle."
"Of course, Solaris." She approached a book lying on a table. Focusing her magic, she attempted to lift it. The book levitated for a moment before Twilight was forced to the ground, her head pounding and her breathing labored. Solaris and Dusk galloped over to her.
"Oh dear, my young Twilight. I had no idea I was doing this to you. I thought I had merely lowered your capabilities." He magically lifted and pained unicorn. "Do not worry. I will fix this. Come, Dusk." He levitated Twilight to his own quarters, laying her down on the bed. Twilight was in much more pain than she had been last time. She writhed in pain, her body attempting to curl into a ball.
"Twilight, it's gonna be okay," Dusk said soothingly, "Solaris is going to take care of this." He stroked Twilight's mane gently. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Twilight's muscles lessened their convulsing. She laid limply on the bed, her breath coming in quick gasps.
"I will release my tap on you, Twilight Sparkle," Solaris said, his horn lighting. Twilight did not register any of the words spoken. She registered only the pain she experienced as the tap was lifted. This had not happened when Celestia had tapped her magic. The lavender unicorn screamed in agony. "Oh, dear...Releasing my tap should not have been painful for her, Dusk." Solaris was genuinely worried now. "I've never seen anything like this."
Twilight slowly regained the ability to breathe slowly. The pain was dulled, but not gone. She sat up, slightly dizzy. "Why me?" she moaned softly. A tickled assaulted her sinuses. "Haaah-...HaaaaTCHOO! HaaaCHMPH!! HaaaaTCHMPPHH!" Solaris raised a hoof to her forehead.
"Do you feel unwell, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Not really. It's just allergies, Solaris. Not anything to worry about." She attempted to get up.
"Rest, my little pony. Do not overexert yourself." She stopped, laying back down. "Dusk, please stay with her." The sun regent left the room. "Hmm... Perhaps your sneezing is more means to worry than you think, Twilight Sparkle." He mumbled to himself as he entered the library.
Solaris re-entered his chambers a few minutes later, a large volume held in his magical grasp. Twilight and Dusk watched him pace as he read a few pages. He looked up from his book and closed it. "Twilight, my little pony. How do you feel?" She smiled at him.
"Better, thank you." She eyed the closed book suspiciously. "What's that?" Solaris levitated the thick object over to Twilight, where she grabbed it with her hooves, too wary of magical exhaustion to try levitation herself. "'Magical Maladies and Magical Mingling'. What's this for?"
"Dear Twilight, is it not true that you were under the influence of allergies when you arrived in our universe?" The confused unicorn nodded. "So it is also true that you were under the same influence when I tapped your magic?" She nodded again.
"But, Prince Solaris, I don't get it." The prince smiled at her and nodded.
"I know, Twilight. Not many ponies know the consequences of a tap other than restricted magic, and, for most unicorns, it is not a problem. You, however, are not most unicorns, Twilight Sparkle. I believe I, as well as my gender reversed duplicate from your universe, should have taught you both this earlier. We should've been more careful, but I'm sure we both figured that you would never be tapped at all, except during lessons, and if you were, surely the circumstances would not be this." The solar prince looked at the ground. "I am so sorry I did this to you, my little pony."
"Please, Solaris, you do not have to apologize. It was a mistake." Twilight opened the book and flipped through the pages. "But...what are the consequences of the magic tap?" Solaris used his magic to flip the book to the proper page. Twilight read aloud, "'The magical tap can reek havoc on the magical pool of the unicorn being tapped if that pony is weakened, hurt, or inflicted with any sort of illness or allergy, causing dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms similar to the flu whenever he or she uses large amounts of magic. At first even simple spells can cause symptoms, but after the first day of lifting the tap, the unicorn can usually do simple spells. The more powerful the unicorn, the longer this illness will persist before the unicorn can use their full magic again.' Oh, no. How long could this go on?" She scanned the rest of the page. "'The longest ever account of a magic tapping sickness was one month, by Starspiral the Knowledgable, as a test of the magical relapse.'" She blinked in confusion. "Who is Starspiral the Knowledgable?" Dusk jumped up, surprised at Twilight.
"Starspiral the Knowledgable is my idol! She's one of the greatest unicorn's in history. Here, I have a picture." He held out a piece of paper to her. The pony looked rather familiar.
"Oh, whoa! She's your version of Starswirl the Bearded!" The realization of who that test had been testing struck her. "Oh, sweet Celestia... A month!? Is that how long I'm going to be like this?" Solaris looked at the ceiling, slightly awkwardly.
"Well, no. Your abilities and Starspiral's are not evenly matched. Her magic pales in comparison to yours and Dusk's... I would expect your illness to last at least three times that long."
"THREE MONTHS??" Solaris winced at Twilight's outburst and nodded. She jumped off of the bed. "There isn't anything you can do?"
"I'm sorry, my young Twilight, but I am powerless in this matter. Perhaps you should just find a place to stay for the time being. I could allow you to be my student for the time being, if you wish, and you may stay with Dusk in Ponyville. You can explain to his friends about who you are and what has happened. Now, I must go address the guards. Please show yourselves out, my students." The two purple unicorns trotted out the door and out of the castle.
"Three months, ugh! This is going to be forever..." Twilight mumbled. As they came to the ring of guards, they were surrounded.
"Dusk Shine, who is this? Where is your other guest?" Oh, no. They had forgotten to put Twilight's disguise up again, and now they were surrounded by some very angry guards. "Why does this pony look so much like you?"
"Guards! What are you doing to my little brother?" Twilight's eyes widened as the captain of the Royal Guard approached them. The ponies hair was long with stripes of light and dark blues in it. It looked just like her brother, except she was a mare.
"Shimmer Shield!" Dusk breathed, relieved. Twilight stared at the pony in awe. She had always wanted a sister to talk to. Not that she didn't love Shining Armor, but he didn't always understand. "Big sister! It's been so long!" The guards dispersed to let her in.
"Too long. Don't worry guys, I'll handle them." She led the two lavendar unicorns away from the guards. "So who's the girl, little brother?" Dusk glanced at Twilight.
"She's...uh..."
"I'm him," Twilight spoke up, "I am the gender switched version of your brother. My name is Twilight Sparkle." Shimmer Shield stared at her, confused. "I'm from an alternate universe where everypony is the opposite gender. I have a brother named Shining Armor."
"But how?" They sat down on the grass, and Twilight explained the situation.
"...and now my search for a way back has been slowed considersbly because I can't perform my spell anymore," she finished.
"Wow, well... Dusk, keep an eye on her, and Twilight, when you do find a way back, don't forget to visit if you can." She stood. "I'd love to chat more, but I need to get back to my shift." They said their good byes and Twilight and Dusk made their way to the train station. They boarded and sat silently as the train returned them to Ponyville.
"So..." Twilight ventured as train came to a halt, "How do we tell them?"
"Dusk Shine!" The shout made both unicorns jump. Twilight turned to see the colt version of Pinkie Pie hopping gleefully towards them. He stopped in front of them. "Oh wow. Dusk, you were gone for soo long, and I was soo bored. Oh, who's your new friend? Is she nice? Hi! My name's Bubble Berry and we are going to be best friends! Yay!" Twilight smirked slightly at the pink pony's antics.
"Nice to meet you, Bubble Berry. My name is Twilight Sparkle." The party pony grinned.
"Wow, that's a cool name. Hey! Did you know that Twilight Sparkle and Dusk Shine mean almost the same thing? It's almost as if you and him are the same pony-" Twilight turned to Dusk, temporarily blocking out the pink colt's banter.
"We should get everypony together to tell them." Dusk nodded in agreement and they turned back to Bubble just as he was saying....
"...and I'm gonna have to throw you a huge party!"
"Errrm...Bubble Berry, maybe that should wait. Can you get the other guys and get them to meet us at the library?" WIthout a word, the pink pony nodded and dashed off in record speed. Twilight giggled. "So, I guess you must have a pony for Bubble?"
"Yes, her name is Pinkie Pie. She lives with the Cakes in Sugarcube Corner. I suspect Bubble does the same?"
"Yeah, except our 'Cakes' are called the 'Pies'."
"That'll be confusing." Twilight and Dusk entered the library. After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door and five ponies stood in the doorway, one of them hopping constantly, and another floating in the air. Twilight took in the sight of Dusk's friends, well, her friends, just gender switched. She didn't realize that she had begun to stare at Rarity's double, his mane just dazzling her in the fact that it could be so similar yet so differ at the same time.
"Are you quite all right, my dear?" he asked politely. She blinked several times as she came back to reality.
"W-what? Oh, sorry..." she looked away, blushing.
"Well, don't just stand in the doorway, guys. Come on in." Dusk led them into the main room, where they all took a seat on the floor. "Guys, I would like to introduce you to Twilight Sparkle."
"Why Dusk, her name..." colt-Rarity started, "...and she looks just like you. Are you twins?" The other unicorn knew how ponies connected their family tree with names. The bonds between a pony and their name were very strong, and unicorn's bonds were the strongest of all.
"Not exactly, Elusive," Dusk explained. Twilight mentally remembered the name of the alabaster colt. "Twilight and I aren't twins. Were not brother and sister either." His eyes scanned his friends faces for a moment. "Twilight Sparkle and Dusk Shine are names that mean nearly identical things. For unicorns, no other unicorn is even allowed to have a name that similar to another living unicorn."
"What are you saying?" Rainbow Dash's colt version asked, "Is one of you a zombie pony?" The others whispered to each other.
"Of course not!" Twilight sighed, exasperatedly, "I'm Dusk as a mare." The room fell silent. Twilight stared at them all for a moment before continuing. "I discovered a spell written by Starswirl the Bearded, who you know as Starspiral the Knowledgable. I didn't know what it did, and when I cast it, I found that it transported me to another universe. However, when a unicorn uses this spell, they find themselves in the other universe and lock onto their own magical signature. Because I am no longer in my own universe, I cannot lock onto my signature. In other words, I can't get home."
"She also has another problem," Dusk chimed in, "When she arrived here, Prince Solaris detected her magical signature and, thinking I was in danger, he tapped Twilight's magic. During that time, Twilight was experiencing an allergic reaction, which triggered a reaction with the tap. Even though the tap has been removed, she does not have the magical stamina to preform her spell until it wears off, which is going to be awhile. Twilight will be staying here with me for three months until the tap sickness goes away." He turned to his friends. "I hope you all can help me make her comfortable for the time she is staying here. Now, I think it would be in order for you all to introduce yourselves."
"I'm Rainbow Blitz," the colt-RD told her, "But everypony calls me Blitz."
"I'm Applejack," the burly Apple colt said, "It's nice to meet you." At least she wouldn't have any trouble with that name.
"My name in Elusive, my dear," the alabaster unicorn said, "It's lovely to meet you." He gave her a slight bow.
"I'm Butterscotch." Twilight gave the shy pegasus colt a reassuring smile. Butterscotch smiled back.
"And you know me! I'm Bubble Berry!" The energetic colt hopped about the room for a minute.
"I really appreciate you all being so nice to me. Thank you," Twilight said, "Heh, looking at you all, it's very odd from what I'm used to. I mean, you're all mares. Butterscotch, in my universe, you're name is Fluttershy. She's just as shy as you and she has a pet bunny named Angel. Blitz, your female counterpart's name is Rainbow Dash. She won the Best Young Flyers competition, as you probably did, and she is trying to get into the Wonderbolts group. She got into the camp not long ago. Applejack, your name isn't so confusing, because it's the same in my universe. I'm sure you're exactly as hard working and honest as the mare that I know, though I expect that your a tad bit stronger than her because you're a colt." She approached Elusive slowly, taking a slow walk around him as she spoke. "Elusive, your double is a beautiful fashionista named Rarity. She designed dresses for my friends in my universe for the Grand Galloping Gala. They were lovely, and I expect that your skills with the sewing machine are as astounding as her own." Twilight turned to the last colt in the room. "Bubble Berry," she began, a grin growing on her face, "You are the male version of my good friend Pinkie Pie. She loves to laugh and smile, but she is also very responsible. She is one of the best friends a pony could have, just as I am sure you are." Twilight smiled at all of them. "When I do find a way back I'll have to figure out a way to visit, and maybe brings my friends too. Until then, you're going to have me here full time, well, at least until my magic returns to its normal capacity."
"Wow, miss Twilight. Ah ain't never heard anything so nice," Applejack said, wrapping his forelegs around Twilight in a hug. The others joined in. "We're lucky to have another great friend."
"I'm lucky that you're all so nice and caring like my friends back in my universe." A few tears rolled down Twilight's checks. "Thank you all so much for accepting me."
"Why wouldn't we accept you, my dear? After all, if you are so similar to Dusk as you say, there is no reason for us not to."
"Thank you," Twilight said happily, "Thank you all so much."
Twilight Sparkle was adjusting to her temporary life. She slept in the spare bed, spent her mornings reading books in the library with Dusk, spent her afternoons around Ponyville, nights with Dusk again. She had hung out with the guys once during the afternoon, but, although they claimed that they enjoyed her company, the only place she felt comfortable was in the boutique with Elusive, because being around clothing that seemed to bridge the gap between their genders whereas anywhere else didn't have that connecting object.
She had started hanging out with other mares around Ponyville. Macarina was fun to hangout with sometimes, even if she was a bit shy, but the other mares went to the spa and hung out doing things that Twilight missed from her other life. The one she left. The one she needed to go back to. It had only been a week, but to the purple unicorn, it felt like an eternity. She missed her friends more and more everyday, even though she knew that they were always around, even if they were colts.
Elusive became her closest companion in the confusing world. As he measured her for a dress, something he had never tried before, but was willing to give a try, Twilight felt a few stray tears sting at her eyes. "Twilight?" he asked her, concerned, "Twilight, what's wrong?" A tissue levitated over and wiped the tears away. Elusive, ever the gentlecolt, led her to the sofa, sitting down next to her. "What's bothering you, Twilight?"
"I don't know," she mumbled, "I just feel so...alone. I don't spend any time with Blitz or Applejack or Butterscotch. They never seem comfortable around me, and it makes me feel uncomfortable too. Bubble Berry only comes around now and again, he's always busy keeping everypony happy, so I never spend time with him either. I only ever talk to you and Dusk. I spend most of my free time with Macarina and the other mares in Ponyville. I feel like I'm avoiding you guys." Elusive patted her shoulder and ran a comb through her hair.
"Twilight, dear. They don't understand. Blitz and Applejack are both brash and Butterscotch's uncomfortable around mares. It's not your fault. It will just take them all awhile to get used to it. Don't worry, they just don't know how to act. It makes them nervous when they don't know what to do. Being a fashion colt, I have to be able to talk to mares." The fashion colt levitated over some hair care products and styled Twilight's hair. "Maybe if we all do something together it will help break the ice."
"Maybe..." Twilight gazed at the closed curtains of the boutique. They were always closed when she was there. Elusive knew she didn't like for ponies to be able to watch her from the other side. He knew her so well. Probably better than anypony else, even her friends back in her own universe. "But what would we do?" Elusive set down the comb and thought.
"A picnic, perhaps?" Twilight nodded in agreement. That sounded good. Food and bonding all in one.
"Yeah, that could work. There's not much else that we could actually do anyway that wouldn't be awkward or wouldn't have a lot more ponies than just us." The other unicorn nodded.
"We could suggest it..." A clap of thunder shook the boutique, startling them both. Elusive magicked the windows open to reveal a raging storm of wind and rain. "Oh, my! What a disaster! I'm so sorry, Twilight. I completely forgot about the downpour scheduled for this evening. Oh, how did it get to be so late? You simply cannot go out in weather like this, my dear. You should stay her." Twilight tried to protest. "I insist."
"Well, if you want me to, I guess..." Twilight blushed, "Do you have a guest room or anything? I never really stayed at Rarity's much, so I don't know."
"Well, you can sleep in my little brother's room. He's out at Applejack's tonight." Twilight nodded, yawning. "You can go up and lay down now, if you want. I know how little sleep you both get." The purple mare blushed at this, still nodding.
"Thank you," she said, "You've been a great help to me Elusive. I know it's only been a week, but I feel like its been years since I left. Thank you so much."
"I'm glad I could help Twilight. Now, I think you should rest. I'll be going to bed soon anyway." Twilight trotted tiredly up the stairs and into the guest room. Crayon drawing lined the walls. Smiling, Twilight crawled into bed and closed her eyes. Things weren't as lonely as they seemed.
Twilight woke up feeling...odd. Sort of...fluttery. But it felt wrong, like there was something missing that she didn't understand. The feelings of unpleasantness faded as Elusive knocked on the door. "Twilight, my dear, are you up yet?" She's trotted over to the door and opened it. Elusive smiled at her, but frowned as he spotted her mane. "Twilight! Your hair!" She blushed.
"Oh, sorry. I'll get a brush-"
"Nonsense, Twilight!" the designer declared, "I'll do it for you! Come!" She was pulled into the main room of the boutique. The windows were open, but nopony was about at this time of morning. Twilight was sat down in front on a mirror and Elusive styled her mane just the way she liked it done. "Ah, there! That'll do."
"Thank you so much, Elusive. You're so nice to me. I wish the others were like you." The alabaster colt chuckled.
"If they were all like me, I don't think we'd get along," he admitted, "Getting to know yourself and seeing your own flaws is not something I would enjoy." Twilight thought on that for a moment. She and Dusk got along just fine. Maybe that was because they weren't exactly alike, but they were similar enough to bond with each other. "Are you feeling alright this morning, Twi? You seem a bit distant." Twilight's eyes snapped to the other unicorn.
"What? Oh, sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind right now." She smiled at the colt. "Wait a minute..." she eyed him suspiciously, "Did you just call me 'Twi'?" Elusive's face went a bit red.
"Oh, sorry," he mumbled, "Do you not like it?" Twilight blushed a little too.
"It's fine. Actually, the Applejack from my universe calls me that. I just wasn't used to you calling me that." She smiled at him, and another odd feeling settled inside her. A good feeling, this time. Not the uneasiness that had bothered her when she had first awoken. Did she...like...him? Even though she told herself no, her heart told her otherwise. Twilight felt her cheeks reddening.
"Twi, are you sure you're okay? You look a bit feverish." He voice was like silk to her ears. It was so perfect. Oh, wait. He was talking to her.
"I'm fine, sorry. Just...something I was thinking about." She suddenly remembered something. "Oh, no! Dusk Shine! He's probably wondering where I am." She became suddenly worried. "I should go tell him I'm okay and not in mortal danger or something." She quickly left Elusive, suddenly feeling very awkward in his presence. She noticed the look of disappointment on his face as she closed the door.
She galloped home, noting the closed curtains of the library. That always meant that he was worried about something. Twilight knew exactly what that something was. She opened the door lowly and looked inside. She didn't see anypony, so she took a few steps inside. Something purple tackled her. "Twilight!" Dusk Shine hugged her tight. "Thank Solaris! I thought something had happened to you." Twilight pushed him away.
"Jeez, Dusk. Don't do that," she scolded, "I'm fine. I just couldn't get home last night when the storm started up. I stayed at Carousel Boutique with Elusive." Even saying his name made her feel weird. "We were wondering if we could all go have a picnic or something. You know, so we can all spend time together and stuff. We never all do stuff together."
"You're right, we never do anything together...and I'm sorry about tackling you. I was just so worried last night that you had gotten hurt or something because of the storm." Twilight smiled at the purple colt.
"I understand," she said truthfully, "Would you mind going around to see when we could do that?" Dusk nodded, pulling out a list.
"Yeah, I've got stuff to do in town anyway, so I'll go around and ask them. I probably won't be back until tonight though, because I am helping Applejack today. I'll see you tonight. Don't go wandering off without leaving me a note." She nodded and rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to stay here today anyway." Dusk trotted out the door, and she went upstairs. Twilight opened the curtains and sat down on the bed next. Her eyes scanned Ponyville below her. She watched ponies emerging from their houses. Pegasi flew above the town, and she noticed a prismatic pony that looked very familiar. For a second, she almost thought it was Dash, but then she saw the jaggedness in the tail, and realized it was Blitz. How would Rainbow Dash get here anyway?
A tear rolled down her cheek. She ignored it.
Applejack and Bubble Berry were walking towards the library where Dusk was standing, reading his list. He looked up at them and galloped over. He told them something, probably about the picnic. They nodded and said something in return. Bubble got very excited. Unless he was talking about a party, Twilight was positive he was talking about the picnic.
Butterscotch appeared in her sight. The canary yellow pegasus met up with Dusk Shine on the road, and he stopped to talk to him. Butterscotch looked up at her window and she flinched away, hoping the pegasus hadn't seen her. Why am I hiding from them? They're my friends... Tears clung to her eyelashes. No they're not. They're his friends. Not mine. More tears. She crawled off the bed and trotted slowly to the open door of the closet. She pulled herself inside. No pony knew that she liked to hide here when she was upset. Not even Dusk or Spines. Twilight looked around, wondering where the little dragon had gotten to.
She was probably sleeping or watching Elusive from outside the boutique window. Elusive... Twilight wished that she was back at the boutique with him. She'd let him do her hair or design an outfit for her. She'd even-
The front door opened, knocking her out of her reverie. "Twilight?" It was Applejack.
"Twi?" And Elusive. Twilight slowly closed the closet door, but it squeaked a little.
"Oh, she's upstairs! I heard her!" Bubble Berry's voice chimed in. Twilight yelped softly and buried herself in Dusk Shine's old clothes. She listened as the colts galloped up the stairs and came into the room. "Oo! I can't see her. Is she hiding?" Twilight remembered Pinkie Pie saying that when Nightmare Moon had returned.
"Everypony look for her," Applejack drawled, "Dusk doesn't want her to miss the picnic." Picnic? Oh, but I can't let them see me like this.... She could hear the sounds of the search going on. The closet door was opened, but the closet itself was not thoroughly searched. Through a hole in her clothing covering, Twilight could see them searching. Bubble Berry managed to get under her bed, which was impressive since it was only an inch off the ground. He emerged covered in dust.
"AHHH-chooooo!" he sneezed, the coating of dust falling off of him. His sneeze made Twilight realize just how dusty the closet was. Oh, no...
"HaaaaaTCMPH!!" She explosive sneeze launched her into the air, knocking the clothes off of her. She looked over at the ponies in the room and blushed, "Eh, heh... Hi..." She emerged from the closet, still blushing, and magically closed the door. She went over who all was in the room. Applejack, Bubble Berry, Elusive, and Butterscotch stared back. "Sorry, I was just trying to find something. It's kinda secret..."
"Oh," the other chorused. Twilight was glad that she wasn't the Element of Honesty. She smiled a them.
"So, did you say picnic?"
-----
"We really should do this more often." Twilight was laying back on the picnic blanket, having already finished her lunch. "Ponyville Park is lovely this time of year."
"I agree," Elusive said, taking another bite of his sandwich.
"Eyyup, this sure was fun, but I gotta get home now y'all. Bye," Applejack trotted off. The others started to disperse. Twilight watched them go. Dusk was the last one to stand.
"You coming, Twilight?" he asked.
"In a little while," she answered, "I'm going to lay here for awhile and think." Dusk's brow furrowed and he approached her, concerned. He sat down next to her.
"Twilight," he said softly, as if talking to a wounded animal, "What's going on? Why are you so distant to everypony?" She gave him a look that he seemed to understand. He pulled her into a hug. "I know that you miss your own universe, but at least you have us, right?" She nodded.
"Yeah, but I still miss them, even with you guys around. I mean, what if you had come to my universe, and all your friends we girls, except maybe Rainbow and Applejack, and you didn't feel comfortable around them? Not to mention that there's already one of you in this universe, and they all spend time with her instead because she's a girl, like them." Dusk seemed to get was she was talking about.
"Twilight, maybe you should write to Solaris about this. I'm sure he could help you." Twilight thought about that. It would almost be just like talking to Celestia.
"Alright," she agreed, "I haven't written anything to him by myself yet anyway, and I expect that he might want me to do a bit more than the compiled notes we've done so far. I mean, you write to him on your own, don't you?"
"Yeah," he replied, "And Spines can send your letters too. I hope Solaris can help you get through this, but don't forget that, even if we don't seem to be, we're all here for you too."
"I know, Dusk. Thank you so much." They started walking back to the library. Twilight was already planning out her letter as the left Ponyville Park.
Twilight levitated a quill and scribbled on the parchment. Dusk had been asleep for hours, but she had stayed awake, wondering what to write to the Prince. She'd had many ideas, but none seemed to fit what she wanted to convey properly. Finally, she had decided to start writing the letter, or she could be thinking for days.
Dear Solaris,
I have taken up my student duties and have decided to write to you. My magic is coming back, slowly but surely, and I am happy to tell you that my levitation spell is working fine. I have not written to talk to you about my magic, though. More about the problems it is causing...
So...I would like to request some assistance in dealing with my temporary time here. I have found it very distracting and difficult to be away from my friends, or at least away from the ones I'm used to. These others are my friends too, but it's just not the same. I find myself distressed when I see most ponies, because they remind me of others that I left. I would appreciate some help with my problem, and I was wondering if you could help me.
I thank you for making me your temporary student.
Your new student, Twilight Sparkle
She read it over, making sure it conveyed what she wanted it to. When she was satisfied, she rolled up the scroll and set it next to Spines. The little dragon turned over in her sleep. Twilight watched the little one for a while before heading off to bed. She laid a down and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Slowly, her eyes closed and she fell asleep, wishing with all her heart that she could just see one of her friends again. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, or Rarity...
"Twilight?" a voice asked. She looked around. Where was she? Oh, right, she was in a dream. "Twilight? Is that you?" An alabaster unicorn mare approached her. "Oh, I must be dreaming... It can't really be you."
"Your dreaming?" Twilight asked, "But you are the dream. I just fell asleep." The dream-Rarity scoffed at her.
"I am most certainly not a dream," she said, "And you are most certainly not Twilight. She disappeared over a week ago. Spike said she was performing some weird new spell and disappeared." Twilight wandered forward.
"Well, that sounds like me. I got transported to another universe and I can't get back. Oh, I wish you were the real Rarity so I could tell her..."
"I am the real Rarity." The other unicorn stared at Twilight. "Please tell me you're the real Twilight. This isn't really a dream, is it?"
"It has to be a dream. What else could it be?"
"Well, that one spell you learned, the one about connecting with another unicorn's mind, it did this too. It looked just...like...this..." Twilight looked out at the vast emptiness around them. It was very similar to... Both unicorns' faces lit up and they galloped for each other.
"The mind linking spell! Yes! I must have accidentally cast it without knowing. I miss you guys so much, and I must have not been in control of my magic. Oh, Rarity, I'm so glad to see you again!"
"Twilight, it is so good to know that you're safe. Now I can tell the princesses and everypony else that you're okay." Rarity's dream form frowned at her. "You said you were stuck?"
"Yeah, in more ways than one. The spell I used is one that tracks your own magical aura from each universe, so once you leave, it's hard to get back. Almost impossible so far, actually. And I also have been unable to even perform my spell recently, because I've had a magical illness that still won't go away for a few months."
"Magical illness? You're ill? Well, what happened?" Rarity asked, concerned.
"When I jumped into this universe that I'm in, their Prince Solaris, who is basically a male Celestia, cast a magical tap on me, because he feared for this universe's Twilight, who is actually also a male and his name is Dusk Shine. The Prince removed his tap, but it has had some lingering effects that have decreased my abilities greatly. I don't even know how I'm able to do this spell."
"Well, I have heard that unicorns' dreams can power their magic, and they can even cast her level spells in their sleep sometimes." Twilight frowned.
"So until I figure this out, we can only communicate when at least I am asleep?"
"It would seem so, yes. I shouldn't matter if I am asleep or awake, since its your spell being cast here. I can feel your energy in it. I felt I before, but I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me."
The barren space around them fuzzed for a second. "Oh, no. I must be waking up! Bye Rarity! I'll try to talk to you again soon!" The two sorta dream-form unicorns hugged each other until they other disappeared.
The next thing Twilight knew, she was in the library, laying in the guest bed. Dusk Shine's face hovered above her, looking concerned. "Um... Spines sent your letter.... Do...Do you feel okay, Twilight? You were tossing a lot last night."
"I'm okay, Dusk. Just a dream is all." Twilight decided to tell him about her sleep casting later. He might want to find a way to make her stop, in case she went over her limits, which she still didn't know at the time because of her temporary magical degeneration illness. She didn't want to not be able to talk to Rarity. She needed to talk to Rarity, because inside, she knew that this was the only way to keep her sanity.
Twilight went about her days in as normal a fashion as she could. It was hard for her, because she was anxious about seeing Rarity again as well as receiving a letter from Solaris. Surprisingly enough, the letter did not arrive that day, which made Twilight even more anxious. Usually, replies only took a few minutes to a few hours. Where was the letter? What if Solaris didn't have any advice? What if he thought she was a horrible student? What if--
"Twilight, you're shaking." She yelped and turned towards the source. Elusive looked back at her, concerned. "If you don't feel up to modeling today, I can use the mannequins. I don't want to stab you with the needles..." He set down the pins he had been levitating and approached her slowly. "Twilight? ...You're thinking about them again, aren't you?"
Twilight sighed, taking care not to knock the swathes of fabric out of her. "Sorry, Elusive. Yes, I have been thinking about them, but I'm more worried about getting a letter from the Prince. I wrote to him yesterday and I haven't gotten a reply yet."
"I'm sure he's just busy, Twilight," the alabaster colt said, "I mean, he does have both of you writing to him now. Maybe it's confusing him or something." He levitated the pins again. "Now, am I safe to pin up your new dress, or do we have to put it on a mannequin?"
"I'll be still." Elusive smiled warmly at her. It made her stomach flutter.
"Good." The fashion colt finished pinning up her dress and sewed up the seams. Twilight couldn't see the dress very well since she was wearing it, but she did know that it had colors that complimented her coat, mane, and eyes. It didn't seem too frilly from the parts she could see.
It took Elusive a full hour sewing and inspecting the dress. He would sew and look at it for awhile. Then he'd take out some stitches and redo them. Finally, he was satisfied with his creation. "Come on, Twi. Lets see how you look." She went to the mirror and stared for a long time at the mare on the other side.
She was beautiful. Twilight didn't remember herself ever being so pretty. The purple base of the dress made her eyes stand out, and there were thin magenta veils of fabric covering the base. Silvery white stars bejeweled her neckline and the skirts of the dress. Her cutie mark decorated the back of the dress. Gold lined the skirt and tendrils of gold swirled from the lining. It was wonderful. It was perfect. It was just what she asked for.
"Twilight? What do you think?"
"It's amazing," she breathed. Elusive smiled, both proud of what he'd created, and happy that Twilight liked it so much. Carefully, the purple mare slipped out of the dress. She lifted it with a levitation spell and turned it around in a circle, admiring the handiwork from all angles.
"It's not as pretty if you're not wearing it." Twilight felt her cheeks burn. Elusive laughed.
"Can I tell you something?" Elusive seemed surprised by the question. He responded immediately.
"Of course, Twilight. What is it?"
"I...I talked to Rarity." Elusive looked puzzled. "She's the you from my universe. I accidentally cast a mind linking spell when I was sleeping, and I found that I have a way to communicate with them now."
"That's wonderful news, Twilight!" he told her, grinning, "This could get you one step closer to going home." He frowned. "You will come visit, right?" He seemed concerned on the matter. Very concerned. Like, abnormally concerned that, for some odd reason, she wouldn't come back to visit when she found a way home...
"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" She laid the dress gently on a mannequin and took a few steps towards Elusive. "Why, Elusive?" Her tone had changed. It seemed darker, maybe almost menacing. Her brow was furrowed like she was deep in thought, and her eyes were locked on him.
He seemed embarrassed at the question, as well as at least a little disturbed with the way it had been asked. His face turned pink as he stuttered, "W-well, I...I like you..."
"Like, as a friend?" Twilight knew where this was going, but she asked anyway. Her face softened. Her tone was lighter.
"Well, not exactly.... Maybe..." Almost like Fluttershy, or Butterscotch, he mumbled the rest of it, and she didn't hear it. She knew what it was anyway, though.
"More than just friends?" Elusive nodded, and Twilight smiled. "That's how I feel too." He looked up at her, a mixture of surprise, confusion, and happiness gracing his perfect face.
"Really? Oh, Twi, this makes me so happy!" They hugged each other and talked for awhile. With the curtains of the boutique closed, they told stories and shared secrets, laughing the whole while. It made Twilight forget about her friends for a little while. Eventually, however, the topic did come up.
"So, you're probably talking to Rarity again tonight?" Twilight paused, suddenly uncomfortable. They had been having such a good time. Why was he bringing this up now?
"Yeah." She glanced skeptically at him. "Maybe she'll know how to help me. Besides, I know that it's nice here, but it is nice to talk to them too, or at least one of them."
"I know, Twi..." Elusive sighed, "I really do wish you could find a way home... What was that spell you were talking about?"
"The mind linking one? It's really simple. It's in one of my books. I could show you." Twilight was suddenly eager. She never got to show anypony her books.
"Maybe another time, Twi, but this spell connects to the other unicorn's magical signature, doesn't it?" She deflated slightly, but answered the question, even if it was a little suspicious.
"Yeah, so?" Elusive waved a hoof at her, dismissing her prodding for information.
"Oh, nothing, Twi," he said, a slightly guilty and worried expression on his face, "Nothing at all."
"Twilight? This spell looks really simple. Are you sure you have to be asleep for this?" Elusive read the spell over several times.
"I'm pretty sure. It's going to be another week at least until my magic comes back enough for that."
"But...I could perform this spell, Twilight! Surely you-"
"Wait...if you can perform the spell, you can probably cast it on me too, and I could direct it to Rarity as well. We could all be encompassed by it. Then I wouldn't have to be asleep! This is perfect."
"But, Twilight... I don't really think that this is a good idea." Elusive cringed as Twilight tried to grab the book from his telekinetic grip. He held for a moment before dropping the object suddenly as he remembered what could happen. He didn't want to see anypony in pain, especially not her.
"Please, Elusive? For me?" Twilight put on her best puppy dog face, to which Elusive could not say no, and leaned in really close to his face.
"...Fine..." He lit his horn, reciting the spell pattern in his head. "So all I have to do is cast it on you?"
"Yep, I'll do the rest. It's much less magic consuming, so it'll be safe for me." Twilight braced herself for the unreal sensation of somepony else casting on her. Elusive grimaced and let the spell sink into his horn and entwine itself in his mind. He built of magic in his horn for a moment before releasing it suddenly in a shockwave of magic. Twilight searched for Elusive's magic. There it was. She searched for Rarity's magic for a moment, before locking onto the unicorn's magic and pulling her into the spell.
Then it was dark. Very dark. Twilight looked up to see two nearly identical white unicorn's standing in front of her. Their coats almost seemed to glow. "Twilight, darling! I was wondering when we would see each other....again..." Her eyes locked on Elusive. She stared at the colt for a long moment before throwing Twilight a questioning glance.
"Oh, Rarity! It's great to see you again! This is Elusive, your...male counterpart."
"Well, Twilight, that's all fine and lovely, but I have something really important to tell you." Elusive froze, horror-stricken. As soon as the frown had appeared, however, it was gone, replaced with a fake smile. He pulled Rarity away from Twilight.
"Oh, before we do that, would you mind if we had a little chat? I've never talked to myself before, and I'd like to If I could." He looked pleadingly at her. She sighed and nodded her head. "Thank you, Twi. I just want to talk for a minute." He led Rarity away from Twilight. "Rarity, I know what you want to tell her," he whispered, "but I beg of you, please don't." She seemed taken aback.
"Why on Equus not?"
"Look," he said, "Twilight can't even perform this spell right now, much less the one that's been catapulting her through universes. Telling her will just make her even more anxious, and she's high strung as is. Give her some more time first. I don't want her trying to do more than she can. She's not used to having restrictions." Rarity was staring at him sympathetically.
"Elusive, I know what you're trying to do," Rarity whispered, "but I am going to tell you right now that Twilight is not going to leave you forever. I do find sense in not telling her right now, and I'll wait for awhile. I'm not going to wait forever, though, Elusive." He nodded.
"I know, I just..." His sentence trailed off into nothing. Rarity put a hoof on his shoulder.
"I understand." She lowered her hoof and went over to Twilight. The two mares hugged and talked for a long while. Elusive watched them for awhile, and, true to her word, Rarity didn't mention what the two white unicorns had both figured out. It was very calm and peaceful in this little dream world place.
"Twilight, we should get back. You can talk to Rarity again tonight while you're asleep." Elusive felt himself getting slightly tired. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
"Alright, Elusive," Twilight said, "See you again soon, Rarity." As Elusive lowered his spell, he found himself back in the library. He sighed.
"Twi, I should be getting back to the boutique. I have a stallion coming in later today for a suit fitting." Twilight seemed a little disappointed.
"Oh, alright. I'm going to do a little studying on unicorn magic during sleep." She levitated over a few choice books. "I might not be over later if I find something really exciting."
"That's fine, Twi. Take all the time you need. You deserve a little time to do whatever you want." Elusive gave Twilight a quick hug, and trotted out the door. He sighed guiltily as he entered the boutique and went into his inspiration room. He'd rather be with Twilight right now, not with some noble pony wanting a suit.
The bell on the door chimed. Speak of the Nightmare... He put on his best smile and stepped it into the main room. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique." The pony was obviously of some noble class. His head was raised up, trying to make him look important. Elusive thought he looked like his neck was broken. Nobles always did take things a bit too far.
After a very stressful time with the pony, Elusive sat down of his sofa with a good book. Twilight wouldn't mind him staying home for awhile, especially after that. Besides, she was probably still busy, and even if she wasn't, he was sure that she would approve of him reading something.
As the alabaster colt attempted to lose himself in the pages of the book, he kept being reminded of what he'd done. How he'd kept that information from Twilight. It made him feel a little guilty that he hadn't let Rarity tell her. He knew why he had done it, but something about it felt morally wrong. He sighed, putting the book down. "Sorry, Twilight," he whispered.
It had been two weeks since Elusive had begged Rarity not to tell Twilight about their discovery, and he felt worse and worse about it each day. Like something was trying to eat him from the inside out. Every time he saw Twilight, it reminded him of the thing that he was keeping from her. She had recently been able to cast the mind linking spell herself, making it unnecessary for him to be there. If he went to keep a check on Rarity, he would seem suspicious.
However, it would seem that the fashionista was good at holding her tongue when need be. Elusive had expected her to be more talkative about the issue. He didn't want Twilight to figure out that he'd been keeping things from her, but at the same time, he wished that Rarity would tell her. He'd tried to tell her several times, but he'd never been able to make the words come out. He felt like such an awful pony, not telling her what he knew.
Twilight was happy for now, though. The visits with Rarity had helped, and the Prince had finally responded to her letter. The purple unicorn remembered getting it. It read:
Dear Twilight,
I am glad that you have chosen to write to me about this matter. I know from my experience with Dusk that not doing so could've caused you to go into some form of mental breakdown. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, as I'm sure this had you concerned. I had to work on helping Prince Artemis prepare for the meteor shower tonight. It's been such a long time since he's done one...
Anyway, I'm not sure how I can help you, but perhaps you could just think of your time here as a vacation. Like a trip. Since I've never been in your situation, I'm not really sure what to do, but I do know that you should not worry, Twilight Sparkle. We will get you home soon.
Your temporary teacher, Prince Solaris
Twilight had been ecstatic when the letter had arrived, but then she was a little down. Not even the Prince knew anything about what she could do. Her down mood did not last long, however, as she was still very sure that she could talk to Rarity whenever she wanted to. Rarity always seemed a little on edge when Elusive was around. Maybe it's just uncomfortable for her... Oh, well. At least I can cast the spell myself now, so she isn't as anxious. Twilight was still ignorant to what the two alabaster unicorns knew, and in her ignorance, she was content.
"I should still tell her, even if she is okay with things right now," Elusive mumbled to himself as he and Twilight trotted to Sugar Cube corner to join the others for a little get together. He had been considering telling her for quite a while. Finally, he decided to grit his teeth and tell her. "Twilight? I have to tell you something..."
"Okay, what is it?" She looked at him.
"I think I may have--um... Well, I might have found...." he coughed once, "I think I found a way for you to go home." Twilight stared at him uncomprehendingly for a second before her face broke into a huge grin.
"Really? How?"
"Well...could we talk about this later? We don't want to keep the others waiting." She frowned a little.
"Okay, I guess," she agreed, "I suppose we really shouldn't keep them waiting, and I've been waiting for this all week." They walked into the bakery to the sound of a canon. The room was instantly covered in party decor. Both of them being used to the antics of a certain pink pony, they barely even flinched at the sound. They trotted over to join the others at a very large table.
All seven of them had decided to have group gatherings every week, to keep Twilight in the loop. This was often the only time that she saw any of them. Sure, this week she had helped Butterscotch with the animals while Elusive was otherwise occupied, but that was very seldom an opportunity for her. Not to mention that she often didn't really want to do anything that they were doing.
"So, how is everypony?" she asked cheerily. They all smiled at her, replying in positive manners.
"How's yer magic coming along, Twilight?" Applejack questioned, hoping to start up some friendly conversation.
"Pretty good," Twilight replied, "Actually, Elusive was just saying that he might have found a way for me to get home." There was a collective gasp from the others, besides Elusive of course.
"Really, Elusive? How?" Dusk asked, clearly surprised that the white unicorn colt had figured something out before he had. Everypony leaned in towards him to hear what he had to say. Bubble leaned to far and fell forward on his face.
"Well..." he started, slightly nervous, "Twilight was telling me how the spell worked one day. She said that it locked onto you own magical signature in the other universe, and it got me wondering if it has to be your own magical signature. Then you were using that mind linking spell to talk to Rarity..."
"You what?!" Dusk asked, "Twilight, why didn't you tell me?"
The purple mare blushed. "Anyway," Elusive went on, "I was wondering if maybe it would be possible to combine both of the spells. Like, lock onto Rarity's magical signature and use that to pull you through to the other universe." Both purple unicorns looked at him, completely astounded that he had put that together.
"Elusive, that's brilliant." Twilight was extremely happy.
"Thank you, Twilight," he said, "I hope you're not mad... I didn't tell you right away..."
Twilight cocked her head, "Why does it matter? I know now." Elusive sighed, relieved that Twilight was not mad at him. He still had her trust. As he sat among his friends, he only wished he had been able to tell her sooner. He wondered why he had felt so worried about telling her earlier...
Elusive had never seen anypony so anxious. Twilight had been on edge for the last week, just waiting for her magic to come back in full. "Twilight, are you really going to just sit in here for the next month? You already spent the last couple of weeks all jittery and quite frankly, I would've liked some help with my outfits... Why do you want to just sit one here alone?"
"Sorry, Elusive. I just. Can't. Stand. This. Waiting," she sighed, "Maybe your right. Maybe a trip to the spa or something could help calm me down a bit. Would you care to join me?" Elusive smiled at her.
"Naturally," he said, nodding, "But no hugs this time. You saw Agave last time we did that." Twilight giggled. She and Elusive had been secretly dating for the last couple of weeks. They didn't want anypony to find out just yet. One of the spa owners, Agave, had seen them hugging. Twilight had insisted that it was a thank you for Elusive's help with her getting home. Agave had not believed her, but as far as they know, he hadn't told anypony.
"Of course," she replied, "I'd like to wait until I know that I can get home before we tell anypony." She frowned. "I wish I could know for sure..."
Elusive frowned too. "Let's get to the spa, Twi. You really should get your mind off that for awhile." They trotted out the door, making an effort not to walk next to each other, in case somepony realized that they were together. Both of them had had scenarios in their minds of the awkward moments that could occur, and neither of them wanted to deal with that yet.
As it turns out, a spa trip was exactly the thing Twilight needed to ease her anxious mind. All the pampering and primping made her worries and doubts about getting home drift away, leaving her refreshed, relaxed, and very happy. She couldn't think of a time when she had felt so good.
"Thank you so much for the spa trip," she said to Elusive as they both had back massages, "This is exactly what I needed to calm me down and get me thinking straight again." She sighed contentedly.
"You're quite welcome, Twilight," he replied, "Everypony deserves to be pampered once in awhile." Twilight closed her eyes, a smile gracing her lips.
"I suppose you're right," she said, nodding. For a minute, nopony spoke. Then, without warning, a small figure burst through the front door of the spa. It was Spines.
"Twilight! There you are!" she gasped, "Dusk's had me looking for you for hours. This arrived for you." The dragon held out a scroll emblazoned with the fiery golden seal of Prince Solaris. Twilight jumped off the massage bed and trotted over. "I gotta go home and help Dusk. I'll tell him where you are though, in case he wants to talk." The letter glowed with a purple light as Twilight lifted it up to her face. Spines plodded out the door again. Twilight unfurled the letter and read it.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
It has come to my attention that a week from today is exactly three months since I released my magical tap on you. I feel it my responsibility to again apologize for what I have done, and I also feel the need to inform you that I do not know exactly when your magic will return it full, but I do know that by next week, your magic should be strong enough for you to return home.
Now, my little pony, I warn you, it may be very taxing on you to perform your spell, no matter how easy it was before. I advise that, just in case, you have Dusk around so he may inform me if anything goes wrong. Certainly, I hope that nothing does go wrong, but I still advise it as a caution.
I hope you can get home soon, Twilight.
Your teacher, Prince Solaris
Unfortunately for Twilight, though the letter was obviously of good news for her, it had just ruined her spa treatment. Her anxiousness made her both excited and, surprisingly, very dizzy. Or maybe the building was just spinning... "Twilight?" somepony called to her. Twilight had managed to slow the whirling around her when dark black began to creep into her vision. Her eyes locked onto a blurry Elusive. "Twilight?" He took a step towards her as she swayed. Then, the floor came up to meet her very quickly, and she passed out, the last thing she registered being Elusive shouting, "Twilight!"
_______________________________________________
"Unghhh..." Twilight moaned, gingerly rubbing her forehead. She felt hot. Too hot. She kicked off the blankets covering her. Wait...blankets? She looked around, the motion making her slightly dizzy. She was in the library, but how had she gotten there? Memories of her episode came flooding back. She had passed out... "What's going on...?" she mumbled to herself.
"Twilight! You're awake!" Dusk's voice rang clear as his face appeared over her, "Everypony, she's awake!" More faces appeared in Twilight's line of sight. One stood out rather clearly.
"Solaris?" she rasped, trying to sit up. A few gentle hooves kept her pinned down.
"Do not move, Twilight Sparkle. You have a high fever, and you need rest."
"I what? Is that why I passed out?"
"We think so," Dusk said, "It's possible that it was caused by some sort of anxiety, probably because you're worried about getting home, but I contacted Solaris to make sure that this wouldn't be degrading to your magic at all. So far, we're pretty sure that it isn't, but Solaris is going to be here today and tomorrow to assess it. Hopefully, your fever will have gone down by then, and we will know the extent of its damage, if any."
"Oh, okay..." Twilight nodded, "Well...I'm going to take a nap, if that's alright with you." She closed her eyes, but opened them again in surprise as something cold was set on her forehead. Elusive gave her a worried smile, readjusting the damp cloth with his magic. "Thanks," she mumbled.
Twilight woke up feeling much better. She looked around the dim room, seeing six figures slated out in sleep around the room. She noticed one with a party hat on. That'll be Bubble Berry. She smiled and her eyes roved over the room, searching for another figure, but she didn't find one. As light began to creep through the window, she realized where he was. Silently, she crept over to the balcony.
I watched as Solaris stood out on the balcony, the Sun rising behind his sihouette. He raised his head with the Sun, making sure not to go too fast or too slow. It was majestic and beautiful. Twilight found herself unable to look away as the solar body's light lit up Soalris's multicolor mane. As he began to turn around, she managed to force her eyes away. She didn't want him to know she'd been staring.
"Twilight Sparkle," Solaris said, "It is good to see you back on your hooves." She blushed.
"Thank you, Prince Solaris," she said, bowing slightly, "I'm glad to be back on my hooves." She scuffed her hoof across the floor. "How are you planning on seeing if this had any effect on my magic?" Solaris smiled at her forwardness.
"If you stand still, I have a spell that I can perform right now that will tell us how your magic is progressing in its recuperation." Twilight nodded, becoming still as a statue. Solaris chuckled and lit his horn. Twilight was encompassed in a yellowish glow. She stayed as still as she could until the spell was ended. "I am happy to report that this little episode of yours had little to no effect on you getting your magic back, my little pony. I will check up with you when your three month mark has passed. Do not attempt your spell before I come to see you, Twilight." The solar regent gave her a stern stare.
"Of course, Solaris." Twilight nodded. Solaris's expression softened into a smile.
"Good," he said, "I must be getting back to the castle then. Please tell the others of my departure when they awake." Twilight nodded again. Solaris spread his wings. "It has been awhile since I've used my wings for such a distance. It'll be nice to stretch them." And with that he took off, leaving a confused Twilight. He had just spoken to her in such a way that seemed...different. Wrong almost...
"Twilight?" With a gasp, the purple unicorn mare spun around and found herself face to face with Dusk. Naturally, since Twilight was an early riser, Dusk would be too. "Did the Prince tell you whether or not your recuperation was going to stay on track?"
"Yeah..." she replied, "He said it would be fine, and that he had to get back to Canterlot. He just left a minute ago, actually." She leaned around Dusk and looked inside the library. The others were all still asleep.
"And you don't feel dizzy?" Twilight looked back over at him, slightly surprised at the question.
"No, I feel fine."
"No headache?"
Twilight sighed, resigning to go along with it. "No."
"And you're not too hot?"
"No."
"Too cold?"
"No."
"Too-"
"Dusk!" she interrupted, "I'm fine. I said that I was fine."
"Sorry..." he looked down at his hooves.
"Don't be," Twilight replied, "You...well, we worry too much." The two unicorns shared an awkward silence for a moment. "Well, I'm going to go take a walk... I need to go think for awhile..." She trotted off down the stairs and out the door.
"Twilight?" Dusk near whispered. He sighed, "We do worry too much, Twilight. I just wish you were bold enough to tell me when something was bothering you..." He turned around and looked over his still sleeping friends. His eyes wandered over all five of them, but lingered for a moment on one. Elusive. Twilight had spent so much time with him in her time here. Maybe she had told him something... Well, that could wait for the moment. Dusk trotted down the stairs and into the library's small kitchen, where he started making breakfast for them all.
Twilight sat at the lake, watching her reflection in the water. The edge of the water was starting to freeze, for winter was coming to Ponyville. It was supposed to snow soon. Fall had been been just starting when she had used the spell for the first time. A tear rolled off her cheek into a patch of unfrozen water, rippling her reflection. For a minute she imagined her friends all standing beside her, their faces reflected in the water, but the illusion vanished after a moment.
She was so close. So very close... She had about a week until she could try to go back. She could be back in her own universe again. She just had to get through this one week. She had done over two months already. Why couldn't she seem to be able to fathom waiting a whole week to see them again? Well, there's always Rarity... Just talking to the alabaster mare didn't seem like enough, though. She wanted to be with them again. She had to be with them again. If she didn't, she expected that she would go insane.
"Why did I even cast that stupid spell in the first place?" she whimpered to herself, "Why couldn't I have just let it go?" She sighed. "I didn't know that this would happen..." She sat in silence in front of the lake for quite awhile. She decided to move somewhere else when her hooves started to go a little numb from the cold ground. She sniffled from tears and the cold air. She trotted towards Sweet Apple Acres. The old barn there was warm inside, and nopony ever went in there. It would be the perfect place to collect her thoughts and stay relatively warm.
She was just trying to sneak past the house, when a familiar orange colt came walking up the road. Spotting her, he galloped over. "Twiligh' Sparkle! I wasn't expectin' to se y'all around here. Whatcha doin'?"
"Oh, I was just out for a walk, and...a-and...Haaah-...HaaaaaaahTCHPH!! Oh, my! It sure is chilly out today." She blushed, looking away from the work horse.
"Eeyuup! Ya shouldn't be out here in the cold or you'll catch a cold yourself. I think a few o' the young 'un's already caught it this season. Y'all should get inside where it's warmer." He pointed to the old barn. "Reckon that's where y'all were headed? You can go on in if'n ya want. I'll make sure nopony bothers ya."
"Oh, well... Thank you, Applejack."
"Not a problem, Twilight." He watched her enter the barn before making for the house. He didn't want to be outside much longer than he had too. Applejack only wished that the old barn was warm enough for Twilight.
Twilight settled herself into a bed of old straw and sighed. The straw was very soft and warm, and it reminded Twilight of the time that she and her friends had thrown a surprise arty for Pinkie in one of the Apple famlily's barns. The memory made her smile and cry at the same time. It felt like it had been an eternity since she had seen her friends. The purple unicorn snuggled deeper into the straw, and it's warmth and comfort made her sleepy. She rested her head on the straw and fell asleep.
Twilight awoke to muffled voices. Realizing that she was still in the old barn, she strained her ears to pick up what was being said. "Yes, Dusk. I told ya that I have seen Twilight, but she wanted to be left alone for awhile."
"Applejack, it's been hours since anypony besides you saw Twilight! And from what you said, it sounds like you haven't seen her for awhile either. What if she's in trouble or something?"
"She'll be fine, Dusk. She pretty much told me where she was going."
"Then where is she?"
"Dusk, ah told her that I wouldn't have anypony disturbing her until she was done getting her thoughts together. Ah'm not telling an of y'all where she went, ya hear?"
"But Applejack," Twilight heard Elusive say, "How can you know that she'll be okay?"
"That's fer me to know, and y'all not to unless she feels like telling ya later." Twilight was touched that Applejack was looking out for her like that. She had not expected the colt to be so protective of her, especially since the others had pretty good reasons for wanting to know where she was. She stood and snuck over to the doorway, peering out a tiny crack between the two huge doors. She could see six ponies.
The mare had to bite her hoof to keep from laughing when she spotted Elusive. He was decked out in the most fashionable winter gear, but, as fashion goes, it wasn't very practical, and he shivered constantly. It had gotten colder since that morning, and from inside the barn, Twilight felt herself start to tremble with shivers. Other than Elusive and Twilght, the ponies had all gotten on their warmest gear, though I suppose that the clothing that the fashion colt wore could've been his warmest, and even though they were bundled up tight, Twilight could see the shades of pinks on their cheeks that suggested that they were getting a bit chilled. Well, except maybe Bubble Berry, since he was always pink.
She watched them argue for another couple minutes before she decided to make her presence known. However, she knew that the guys were all a little skittish around her, except Elusive and Dusk, and she wasn't sure if she wanted them to know she'd been eavesdropping. She trotted carefully back to her straw pile and laid down, preferring the soft warmth to the bone chilling cold outside. How it had managed to get so cold so quickly was beyond her. She laid her head down in the straw and listened for a moment before a ticklish sensation started up in her nose. It was just some straw, so she brushed it away.
Suddenly, she had an idea. The best way for her to be discovered and make it seem like she had no idea what had gone on outside. Twilight stuck her snout into the straw, and had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't inhale any. The itch started up again, and a second later, a loud sneeze ripped out of her, launching her into the air and scattering her straw pile. She heard galloping and the door was slid open.
"Twilight? What are you doing in here?" Dusk asked, "And why aren't you wearing any warm clothes? You're going to get sick that way, you know." She blushed.
"I came here to think, and Applejack promised not to tell anypony where I was. I guess I fell asleep," she said sheepishly. She stood that way for a moment before Elusive walked up to her and levitated a scarf around her neck.
"I know it's no much, but it'll be better than nothing," he stated plainly, "We should get you back to the library." They walked outside, and Twilight felt herself shivering violently. A hat was shoved onto her head, and she looked up to see that Rainbow Blitz, who was the lightest dressed since he was used to high altitude flying, had given her his. A jacket was handed to her and some warm boots. The colts formed a tight circle around her, and she smiled at their kindness.
"Thanks-s," she mumbled, slightly embarrassed.
"No problem," was the unanimous reply. She magically tightened the scarf on her neck and pulled her hat down further. It really was cold out. Almost freakishly cold. She could even see her breath.
"How did it get so cold?" she asked.
"North winds," Dusk replied, "They're blowing into Ponyville. I wrote Solaris, and he said that there was a cold snap up in the north, and the cold air is being blown down here. It normally doesn't happen." Twilight nodded to Dusk's explanation and the rest of the walk to the library was silent. They let Twilight go in, and Dusk follow her, before they dispersed and went back to their own houses.
Dusk closed the door and turned around to face his gender switched self with a sigh. Twilight took a step back. "What?" she demanded, "Why are you looking me like that?"
"Twilight," he started, his voice stern, yet soft, "If there is something bothering you, you should come talk to me or something. I don't want you running off on your own anymore, especially since it's going to be freezing temperatures all week. You can't just go hide somewhere anymore, or you might freeze to death."
Twilight just stood there, her eyes looking anywhere than him. Dusk knew that Twilight didn't want to talk about what she was going through, but he wanted to know. He needed to know. He didn't want her suffering alone in the dark, even if she wanted to. Dusk was well aware of how she, or him for that matter, would turn out if she kept holding everything inside her.
"Dusk..." she started, "I don't want to talk--"
"I know, Twilight," he sighed, "but we both know what will happen of you keep this bottled up inside you." Twilight stared a him for a moment. An excruciatingly long moment. "Please, Twilight..."
And then, something broke. There was a crack in Twilight's veil of strength and security. A chink in the armor, so to say. Twilight knew it. Dusk knew it. And a second later, Twilight's amor broke completely. "Dusk..." she whimpered, collapsing onto the floor. The purple mare began to sob, and Dusk used his magic to lift her and set her on the couch. "I just can't take this anymore."
"I know, Twilight, and I can't even begin to understand what you're going through, but you should always know that I'm here for you. Do you want to write to Solaris or visit Rarity?"
"Yes, I think I'll talk to Rarity for awhile. It's been a few days since I have." Twilight lit her horn and performed her spell. To Dusk, it looked like she had fallen asleep.
"I hope Rarity can help you, Twilight," Dusk whispered, even though there was really no need, "I really do."
Twilight sat in the blissful vacancy of her mind for a long while before she actually reached out to Rarity's mind. The white unicorn blinked and looked around. She spotted Twilight and galloped over. "Twilight, darling! I was hoping that we would talk again soon."
"Rarity, I hope you don't mind, but I really need to talk to you, and it'll probably take awhile. I've got a lot on my mind..."
"Why, of course! What do you want to talk about, dear?"
"Well, I don't know, but I guess I can start with how much I miss you guys. It's been a long time since I talked about any of this to anypony besides you though. I just can't stand being away from you guys much longer. The guys are nice and all, but-"
"But they're not the same. Yes, you told me. I can't imagine how it must feel to be away from us all the time, though we all do miss you dearly."
"Yes, but I can't even talk to all of you, and even when I here, I don't really talk to anypony's duplicate except your's and my own. Well, and Spike's and Celestia occasionally. Mostly yours, though..."
"Is he as fabulous as I am?" Twilight giggled at that.
"Well, he is you, so I should hope so. He's been very nice to me the whole while that I've been here." Her cheeks began to turn a little red. "I spent a lot of time at Carousel Boutique." Rarity was giving her an amused look.
"Really?" she asked slowly, with a slightly sly tone, "Does somepony have a colt friend?" Twilight started in shock. How did she know?
"W-What!?" Twilight stuttered. Rarity gave a little cheer of glee.
"Ooh! I'm right, aren't I!" she grinned, "Despite the fact that it is essentially me, I'm sooooo happy that you found a special somepony!" Twilight's face turned red. "Oh, don't be shy, darling. Like I said, I am very happy for you!"
"Thanks..." she mumbled, "Uh, Rarity? Do you think that you could keep this a secret? At least for the time being?"
"Why, of course, darling! I won't say a word."
"Thanks," Twilight smiled, "Hmm..." A sudden thought had come to Twilight's mind. "Rarity, have you ever heard of unicorn stone?" The alabaster unicorn was slightly surprised at the change of topic.
"Why, naturally, darling. They taught all unicorns about it in school. I've never actually seen any, though."
"Okay, so do you know that it's a very powerful mineral, capable of performing one or two unicorn spells indefinitely?"
"Oh, my... I don't think they ever told us that, just that it was helpful in aiding spells and was very easy to cast on."
Twilight nodded, "Yes, I thought as much. It's possible that nopony besides us and the Princess...or Prince, I suppose, even knows that unicorn stone can hold a spell indefinitely. Hmm... Maybe that's why it's almost never used..."
"Twilight, what are you getting at?"
"I had some once, unicorn stone. Princess Celestia called it Merencrith, which is 'Magic Stone' in old Equestrian. She gave it to me, and I cast a levitation spell on it. It floated around my room all the time, until I left the window open one day and it flew out."
"Twilight, I don't understand."
"Rarity, if we could get some of that stone, some from each universe, and cast my universe hopping spell on them and a linking spell, we could essentially create a permanent portal between the two universes. Any race of pony could use the portal, because the spell becomes part of the rock."
"Could we really do that?" Rarity was staring at Twilight with such utter amazement that Twilight couldn't help but grin.
"I think so. I can get Dusk to help me with the spells. Oh, and I should talk to Solaris first... Do you think you could talk to Princess Celestia about it?" Rarity nodded. "Great! Oh, this will be wonderful! Thanks Rarity! I should go." The void around them fizzled and Twilight found herself back in the library. Dusk looked over at her from the rocking chair.
"That didn't take long." He set the book down.
"It didn't need to," Twilight replied, "Come on! We need to write a letter!" She galloped up the stairs.
"A letter?" Dusk asked, "Why? Twilight!" He galloped after her, very curious as to what she was doing.
"Dear Solaris..." Twilight began, scribbling the letter on a piece of paper.
It has been reminded of me that I will be able to cast my spell to go home again soon. I was talking to my friend Rarity through a magical mind link when I remembered a particular mineral called unicorn stone, or Merencrith in old Equestrian. If what I know is true, then this stone can be permanently enchanted.
This has gotten me thinking. I would like to cast a few select spells on some to create a permanent portal between this universe and my own. That way, I can keep in touch with you all and I will not have to expend magic. Not only that, but ponies in this universe, such as Dusk Shine, could come to my universe for research or other reasons.
I request a piece of Merencrith, if it would not be a problem. I would very much appreciate a way to contact my new friends.
Your student, Twilight Sparkle
"Unicorn stone..." Dusk mumbled, "Twilight...that...that's ingeniously brilliant! It would be a pathway between the universes for unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies alike to use! Genius! This could put our understanding of magic years ahead of our current progress!" The two purple unicorns spent the next half hour looking for Spines to send the letter.
When Twilight and Dusk finally managed to find Spines, they were both giddy with excitement. Secretly, both of them had been worried that they would never see each other again. However, there bout of sheer joy was interrupted a minute after the note had been sent.
"What it he says no?" They both looked at each other. They hadn't thought about that.
"Well, why wouldn't he? Surely, he wouldn't just have me leave without being able to see you all again, would he?" She looked at the other two in the room. "Would he?" she repeated.
"I don't know, Twilight..." Dusk replied. Spines quietly edged out of the room, leaving the two to their thoughts. "I really don't know, Twilight." The colt looked over at her, "But I'm sure that we could find some, if we had to. It's not that uncommon, you know. Most ponies just don't know what it looks like, because it was barely ever used. Why it is used so little, I have no clue. I have a book all about it. Would you like to...?"
Twilight gave him a hug. "Do you really have to ask?" Smiling, the two unicorns trotted downstairs to do what they do best. Read.
Nopony disturbed Dusk Shine when he was reading. They knew better than to do that. Everypony in Twilight's universe knew to do the same, unless there was an emergency. A few ponies entered the library looking for books, mainly the Cutie Mark Musketeers, but they didn't disturb the two ponies engrossed in the book.
"Look! There!" Twilight pointed to a passage in the book, "It says, 'Unicorn Stone is abundant, but is seldom used. This is because unicorns rarely need it to help with spells, since the only spells. They use are ones that they can perform on their own. It is usually only used in classrooms. However, at one time, it was required to have around, just in case of emergencies, so the mayor of each town and city was given a small stash to keep for such emergencies.' Dusk, the mayor probsbly has some! For emergencies only, I suppose, but I'm sure he'd be willing to let us have some. I'd rather get some from Solaris, if we can, though..."
"We should ask Mayor Mustang if he has any first, Twilight," Dusk said, "This book is old, and Ponyville is a pretty new town in comparison to most. Maybe we never got any." He closed the book. "Come on." They trotted out of the library, both of them looking slightly worried.
"If we have it, I don't know where it is." Twilight sighed as it was said. She had been expecting it, really. Nothing that good could've been possible. I guess we just have to wait for Solaris's answer.
"Thank you for your time, but we should really be going now," she replied. They trotted out of the main hall, where Mayor Mustang had been doing....something. Whatever it was that he did, if anything.
"Dusk! There you are! This came for you!" Spines came racing over, a royal scroll held in her grasp. The two unicorns shared an anxiously nervous glance before Dusk picked up the letter with his magic.
"Thanks Spines." The little dragon nodded and took off for home. Twilight smiled as she watched the little dragon waddle out of sight.
"We should gather the guys before we read it, so that they'll know." Dusk looked at her hesitantly before levitating the note over to Twilight to hold on to. "I'll get Elusive and Applejack. We'll meet in the library." Dusk nodded, and they split up to do their jobs.
"Wait! Twilight, what's going on?" Elusive called as Twilight galloped for the library. It was still freezing outside, and she had no intention of staying out there longer than necessary. The alabaster colt followed her, just as she hoped he would. Applejack was already there. She had gotten him first to get the majority of her running done first. "Twilight!"
"Just come on, Elusive. You'll see soon enough!" She opened the library door a raced inside. The fashion colt followed suit, groaning and mumbling something under his breath. "Dusk, we're all here." Twilight lifted the letter with her magic and levitated it over to her male duplicate.
"Are you sure you want me to read it?" Dusk asked, and Twilight nodded, "Alright...'To my dearest students, Dusk Shine and Twilight Sparkle..."
I would first like to compliment Twilight on her ingenious idea of using unicorn stone to make an interuniversal pathway. However, I do not consent to sending it to you. Instead, I insist that you come to the castle, where I will oversee the process. There are a few questions that I would like to ask when you arrive, but I do not wish to fill my letter with questions.
Please come to the castle as soon as possible. I will allow you and your friends all to stay in the castle for the duration of the procedure. I look forward to your arrival.
Your teacher, Solaris
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She hugged Elusive for a moment and shared an excited look. They looked around at their friends. They were all in different states of confusion. Well, all except Bubble Berry. He started hopping around and shouting. "Hooray! Hooray! We're gonna be able to go to another universe!" This just caused more confusion.
Finally, Twilight broke the silence. "Let's get going!"
It wasn't until they were all on the train that Twilight gave any thought to explaining what was going on. "So..." Six pairs of eyes locked on the purple unicorn. One pair simply content to listen, three curious and confused, and one pair belonged to Bubble Berry. "Okay, so here's what happening," she started, "We're going to try to make a portal to my universe that will be usable by any kind of pony."
"So we can go visit her! Or ourselves!" Bubble contributed.
"That's great, Twilight! But how?" Elusive questioned.
"Well, magic is hard to explain, as you know," Twilight began, "but, essentially, we're going to cast some spells on the unicorn stone to form a portal between the universes." Elusive looked as confused as he had before. "That's all I've got, sorry." They sat down in their spots on the train.
As the express train rumbled down the tracks, the seven ponies sat in silence. Twilight was doing calculations in her head for the spells. Dusk was doing very similar equations. Elusive was wondering how on Equus Twilight was going to do it. Butterscotch was huddled in his seat, hoping that nopony would notice him. Rainbow Blitz was flexing his wings, not really thinking about what they were doing anymore. He'd leave Dusk to work it out. Applejack was hopping that they wouldn't be gone long, because he couldn't leave the farm too long. Hopefully only a day or two. Bubble Berry, well, nopony really knows what he thinks about, but he was abnormally calm and still during the train ride.
They trotted out into the station, Twilight still distracted by her calculations. She trotted slowly, not watching her step. She knew the way. The others followed behind her, watching her cautiously. Her hooves caught on uneven stones, and she found herself on the ground. The others helped her up. "Are you alright, my dear?" Elusive asked, "Quite a tumble you took just there."
Twilight blushed. "I'm fine." She stood and they continued their journey. The rest of the walk to the castle was uneventful, and by the time they got there, it was getting dark. Artemis's night guards welcomed them and led them to where they would be staying. Solaris was already asleep, so he would not see them until morning.
As they sat in the room, all completely silent and still, six of the seven ponies suddenly realized something. "Bubble?" Applejack asked, "Are you feeling alright?"
"Hmm?" the pink pony asked, "I'm fine. Why?" They were staring at him like he had two heads, although, for Bubble, that would've been more believable than how he was acting.
"Well, you're very calm, Bubble Berry. It's not like you."
"Oh, that," the party colt laughed, "I've just been thinking about what it would be like to have another me around. I wonder what we would do..." He got a distant look in his eyes, and the others exchanged worried looks. However, they decided to let the matter drop and go to sleep.
"Good night," Twilight called. Six weary voices answered her. She closed her eyes, eager to meet with the prince in the morning, but found that she was unable to sleep. She tossed and turned, her body exhausted, but her mind was racing.
It wasn't until a few hours later that she got up and went for a walk, hoping to calm her anxious mind. She trotted down the dim, familiar hallways, making for her favorite place. The balcony.
She stopped as she came close to it and turned around. She had heard hoof steps. Quickly, she finished her walk to the balcony, putting the sound off as just the echoes of her own steps. She looked out on the starry, cloudless night and sighed.
"Twi?" The sound made her gasp and spin around, her heart pounding in her chest. A familiar alabaster colt stood in the balcony doorway.
"Elusive?" she asked, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry," he mumbled, "I saw you leave and I decided to follow you. I wanted to make sure you weren't off crying again."
"Oh, I just came out here because I couldn't sleep." Twilight looked up at the sky again, and Elusive trotted forward slowly.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked. She nodded.
"It's breathtaking."
"Not as breathtaking as you." Twilight's gaze went to the floor, and Elusive could barely make out the pink in her cheeks. He stood next to her, putting a foreleg around her. The pink deepened to a dark crimson.
"Cut it out," Twilight muttered, "It's embarrassing."
"Oh, come on, Twilight. There's nopony here except you and me."
"And us, Elusive." Both unicorns turned to see a pony with a deep blue coat and blue, shimmering mane.
"Prince Artemis!" Elusive exclaimed, stooping into a low bow. Twilight just stared at him. The Prince of the Night.
"Twilight Sparkle, we--er...I presume. You are my brother's new student?"
"Y-yes..." Twilight mumbled to the regal lunar ruler. He was much more imposing than Luna. He smiled lightly, and that helped his appearance seem less threatening.
"You need not be afraid of me, Twilight Sparkle. I understand what it is like to be away from those you love for a long time." He looked away for a second. "I hope that you can return home soon."
"Th-thank you, P-prince Artemis," she stammered, not as much from his appearance as the cold winds that had begun to blow across the balcony. She shivered, moving closer to Elusive.
"Do you mind if we talk inside? It's a bit chilly out here," he asked, looking down at Twilight in concern. As if to accentuate the point, the purple mare sneezed.
"Bless you, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, we should go in." The prince led them back into the castle. "You should both be getting to your beds if you wish to talk to my brother in the morning."
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep," Twilight sighed, "I'm too nervous." The prince grinned.
"I believe I can help you with that, Twilight Sparkle." He lit his horn, aiming a spell at Twilight. She blinked and stood still for a second before she yawned. "Please help her get back to bed, Elusive."
"Of course, Prince Artemis." Elusive lead Twilight away. They trotted slowly down the hallways to their room and went inside. The others were still fast asleep. Twilight went to her bed, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Elusive went to his own bed and laid down. "Wish he had cast that spell on me," he mumbled.
In the morning, Twilight was awoken by the rising of the sun. She looked around to see the Dusk was waking up too. She got out of bed and trotted over to the window. The curtains were drawn most of the way, but the bright morning light could still shine through somewhat. Twilight opened the curtains the rest of the way, casting bright light through the room. Dusk opened another set of curtains, and the while room was bathed in bright light.
Groans could be heard from the not as early risers. Bubble Berry was awake in an instant, though, bouncing around the room in a pink blur. "Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! We get to see the prince! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun! You know what? I'm gonna have to throw a party!"
"Bubble, now is not really the time for that," Elusive groaned, sitting up, "I'm not sure how the prince would react to a party like yours." He stretched and went to the mirror to do his mane. "If you all want to go look for the prince, you might want to start now. I still need to do my mane and get ready. It might take awhile." The others all decided that Elusive was right in the fact that they should go look for the prince, and that it would be best to go now and let Elusive come after he finished getting ready.
Now, you'd think it'd be easy to find an alicorn at Canterlot Castle. However, Twilight and the others were finding that it could be quite the challenge indeed. None of the royal guards knew anything about where Solaris was, and no one had seen him when the Sun was risen. They went to his quarters, hoping to find something, but no. There was no day court. Where was he?
Just as they were about to give up, Solaris appeared before them. There was something held in his telekinetic grip. Twilight and Dusk knew what it was. "Merencrith!" they cried unanimously.
"Indeed, this is the mineral you requested. It took me quite a long time to retrieve it." He levitated it over to Twilight. "Be careful not to cast your spell on the rock itself, but rather the space around it. This way you do not waste one of your spells on it." Twilight very carefully levitated the rock to the ground in front of her. "But, my dear, how do you plan on casting the spells on the rock on the other side?"
"Well, I was going to go back to do it..." Twilight mumbled, "I'm not sure if I'm ready yet, though. Do you think you could...?" She didn't even have to finish her sentence before Solaris surrounded her with his magic. A smile graced his face.
"Your recovery was a speedy one, Twilight Sparkle. I didn't expect you to be ready yet, but it seems that you are." Twilight smiled. She was about to light her horn when they heard running hoofsteps. Elusive galloped around the corner and stopped abruptly, looking rather embarrassed. He trotted over to the group and his eyes set on the Merencrith. Having a keen eye for beauty, he was forced to resist the temptation of grabbing it to get a better look. It was very beautiful, this mineral. The deepest shade of purple with a shimmering quality. Elusive could think of many outfits that something like that would look perfect on.
"Wow," the fashion colt breathed, his eyes locked on the majestic rock. After a moment, he broke out of his reverie and found several pairs of eyes staring at him. "Heh, sorry..." He looked over at Twilight. "So what do we do now?"
"I'm going back," Twilight explained, "From my universe, I'll cast my spells, and Dusk can cast the ones on this side. I was about to leave." Her horn began to glow softly. "I'll be back soon, I hope." The purple sphere that Twilight had dreamed about seeing again engulfed her. An electrical tingle raced through her as she reached out to Rarity's magical signature. She almost thought she could smell her expensive perfumes and scented hair products. With a soft pop, Twilight found herself standing in front of a familiar alabaster unicorn. "Rarity!"
"Twilight!" They hugged, and Twilight looked around her surroundings. It was not Rarity's usual boutique, but rather another familiar destination, Canterlot Castle. "I'm so glad your back! We've been waiting for a sign from you."
"So, do you have the unicorn stone yet?" Rarity nodded. "Good. Where is it?"
"Let's go tell the others that you're back first. Celestia is with them anyway, and only she knows exactly where she put the stone." Rarity led Twilight through the castle, stopping at a door that Twilight recognized as the door to the room where she had stayed with Dusk Shine and the other colts. The two unicorns walked through the doorway to find five ponies.
"Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil!" Celestia exclaimed. Twilight ran to her teacher and Celestia wrapped her white wings around the purple unicorn. "I am glad that you were able to return to us." The others all gathered round Twilight to hug her.
"And I'm glad to be here, but I am a bit eager to begin, if you don't mind." Celestia nodded.
"Of course, Twilight." The regal alicorn trotted to the doorway and turned back to the other ponies in the room. "I will retrieve the stone. I ask that you wait here. You may want to catch up with Twilight after all this time." The princess left, leaving them alone.
"Wow, Twilight! I'm so glad you're back!" Pinkie cried out in joy, "It's just not the same having a party without you! I'm going to have to have a super huge party very soon!" Twilight laughed and her friends began to tell her about what had been going on. Some of it was a repeat of things Rarity had told her during their talks, but Twilight didn't mind.
She was back. She was home. Everything was going good.
Twilight tried to listen as the others went on about what had been happening since she left, but it was proving to be difficult. She kept thinking about the others. Her friends in the other universe. She felt bad for just leaving them, and she wondered if they were waiting on her.
After what seemed like eons for the purple unicorn, the regal Princess of the Day returned, a familiar purple stone held in her grip. Remembering hold Solaris had instructed her to levitate the stone, she took it from her mentor's telekinetic grip. "Ah!" she said, "Here it is."
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Rarity exclaimed. Twilight found herself thinking of how Elusive had reacted in a similar manner. A slight blush crept into her cheeks.
"I'm going to use a modified version of the mind link spell so I can speak to Dusk Shine, my gender bent double, while still being able to move and perform other spells."
"That's most impressive, my student," Celestia said. Twilight beamed with pride.
"Dusk and I have been working on it since I got stuck in their universe, so that we could talk if we wanted to." Twilight lit her horn. "Dusk?"
"Twilight! We've been waiting for hours. We thought something had happened." Twilight smiled and her horn's glow became fainter. She used only the very minimum amount of magic to conserve the rest for the spells.
"Sorry, we had a little catching up to do while the princess got our piece of Merencrith."
"I see. Well, shall we get started?" Twilight smiled at his proposal, though she knew he couldn't see it.
"Right away."
"Are you sure her spell works? It sounds like she's talking to herself." Twilight shot a glare at Rainbow Dash, who immediately stopped talking.
"Now, Dusk. You need to extend from my aura and lock into the very faint magical signature of the Merencrith. Being a magical material, it should have a sort of signature, and you should be able to recognize it. After you've done that, use another bit of magic to lock onto your own Merencrith, and the cast the linking spell. I'm going to do the same from this side, so our spells should merge and make the bond stronger."
"That won't affect how many spells we can cast, will it? Since it's actually two and all?"
"I looked up on that, and it shouldn't. Not if we cast at precisely the same moment."
"On three then?"
"On three," Twilight confirmed, nodding slightly, "One...Two...Three!" The light glow around Twilight's horn intensified, and she searched for the surge of magic that would be Dusk Shine's spell. Locking onto it, she poured magic in, hoping to make the bond between their universes as strong as possible. "That should do it," she gasped, and she and Dusk stopped their spell. "I sure hope that worked."
"I'm pretty sure that it did," Dusk said encouragingly, "Now, lets cast the other spell. Since this one doesn't connect the stones, it doesn't have to be cast at the same time, correct?"
"Correct," Twilight affirmed, "Now, to conserve magical stamina, I'm going to release the mind linking spell. In an hour, I'll reconnect it. Alright?"
"Alright, see you soon, Twilight."
"See you soon, Dusk." The faint glow of Twilight's horn disappeared. "Okay," she turned to the other ponies in the room, "I need you all to leave the room. I don't know exactly how the stone will react to the spell, and I don't want to accidentally send anypony to another universe." They nodded, and Celestia led them out. Twilight turned back to the stone, checking her magic levels as she did so. They seemed so full after all that time unable to use her magic. She felt invincible, like she could do anything. Lowering her head to face the stone, she pulled as much magic as she could into her horn. Her horn lit up brightly, and she closed her eyes. Reaching out to the stone wit her mind, she released her spell. She opened her eyes as the familiar purple sphere surrounded the stone. The stone didn't disappear, however, but rather, the sphere exploded outward in all directions. As the concussive blast hit her, she felt her ears ring, and consciousness slipped away from her.
When Twilight awoke, her friends surrounded her. "Did it work?" They all smiled at her.
"We're not sure yet, my student," Celestia said, "Would you like to test it out?" Twilight jumped to her feet.
"Shouldn't you tell that other you first?" Rainbow asked, "I mean, what if he hasn't cast his spell yet?"
"It shouldn't make any difference for me going that way," Twilight replied, "but I won't be able to come back right away if he hasn't." She approached the purple stone. Turning back to her friends, she smiled. "I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that, she touched a hoof to the stone. The familiar purple sphere she had grown accustomed to had changed. It was now a pure white. As she admired it, she felt herself pop out if existence in her universe, and appear in the other universe. As the sphere disappeared, she saw her new friends huddled around Dusk Shine.
"Did it work?" Twilight smiled at how very similarly she had acted. She approached the crowd of ponies. Dusk spotted her first. "Twilight!" They all turned to her. Elusive smiled very broadly, but he was blocked from her view by Dusk. "Did my spell bring you here, or did you come here on your own?"
"I came here in my own, Dusk," Twilight smiled, "It's good to see you all again."
"So does this mean the portal works? Well? Does it? Does it? Does it?" Bubble burst out. Twilight smiled at him.
"Well, it works one way, at least," she stated, "Now, we just need to see if it works going back. Dusk? Would you care to join me going back? I'm sure that Princess Celestia would like to talk to you." Dusk nodded eagerly and they walked to the stone. "On three, then?"
"Of course. One..."
Twilight smiled. "Two..."
As their hooves came in contact with the smooth white stone, they both yelled, "Three!" The white sphere encompassed them both and the popped out of universe #63.
A series of gasps announced the arrival of Twilight and Dusk to the former's universe. Dusk opened his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by Twilight's friends. And her princess... He stood for awhile admiring the shimmering, ever moving mane of the princess. It so much like Solaris's. With a slightly sheepish grin, he realized that this must've been almost exactly how Twilight had felt in his universe. He opened his mouth to say hello, but a pink pony that he had already associated with own friend, Bubble Berry, jumped forward towards him.
"Ohmygosh! You're Dusk Shine! Wow! This is so cool! Now I get to throw a party for both of you!" Dusk forced himself to suppress a laugh at the antics of the pink mare. She was just so much like Bubble.
"I bet it would be a great party...Pinkie Pie, is it?"
"Absoposilutely, Dusk Shine! Can I call you Dusk? I really wanna call you Dusk." Pinkie grinned from ear to ear, and this time Dusk couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Of course, Pinkie Pie. You can call me Dusk."
"Okay! And you can call me Pinkie!"
Dusk nodded. "I'll do that." He turned to look at Twilight. "So... What now?"
"Well, I believe that I would like to have a talk with you. Twilight may come if she wishes." Dusk turned to the princess.
"Princess Celestia," Dusk sighed and followed the princess and Twilight as they left the room. They trotted down the marble hallways, and Dusk almost forgot that this was not the castle he had spent years in studying magic. It all just looked so similar. They entered a small conference room where another alicorn sat, waiting patiently.
"Luna, little sister, I'm glad that you decided to come." Celestia sat next to her sister. On impulse, Dusk bowed to her, and realized halfway that it was unnecessary. He quickly moved and sat down at the table.
"Sister, who is this young colt? Why doest he resemble Twilight Sparkle so much?" Twilight blinked in confusion.
"You didn't tell Princess Luna?"
"Luna knew of your disappearance, but no, I did not tell her where you were exactly. It was a confusing situation and I did not have all the facts myself. Your friend Rarity didn't know very much other than that you were stuck in another universe with no way home. I did not wish my sister to worry about that." Celestia looked over at Luna apologetically.
"We still do not understand, sister. Who is that colt?"
"My name is Dusk Shine, Princess. I am a Twilight Sparkle from another universe where everypony is their opposite gender." The lunar regent looked at him, at first confused, but then her face became a mixture of astonishment and amazement. Twilight and Dusk watched as Luna looked between them.
"There is a male Twilight Sparkle in our presence?" The younger princess seemed unable to fathom the information. "WHAT PROOF CAN HE SHOW US OF HIS IDENTITY?" Twilight and Dusk both cringed at the use of the Royal Canterlot Voice. Looking at each other, the two purple unicorns stood and showed Luna the mark adorning both of their flanks. It was known to both of them and the princesses that a cutie mark even remotely similar to theirs was extremely rare. It would be virtually impossible for somepony to have the exact same one. Luna just stared for a moment.
"Good enough, Princess?" Dusk asked.
"Thy point hath been made..." Luna grumbled. Celestia smirked at her younger sister and rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, Luna, I brought you here so we could discuss some things with Dusk Shine and Twilight Sparkle. Twilight spent three months with him and his friends, and I think that it would be good to get to know them."
"Sister, thou woke us from our beauty rest for us to make friends?" Luna aske, slight anger lacing her voice. Celestia turned to her sister.
"I thought that you would appreciate the opportunity." Celestia turned back to Twilight and Dusk. "I will speak with my sister further, but for now, it is getting late. Twilight, you were unconscious for quite a time and it was not too early when you used the bridge. Now, I think it would be wise for both of you to go get some rest. Twilight, I trust you know where to go." The purple mare nodded.
"Come on, Dusk. Maybe my friends are still awake." Twilight led her genderbent duplicate out of the conference room. Together, the trotted down the hallways.
"It's almost identical to the castle I know..." Dusk sighed.
"Yeah, I know how you feel."
Dusk chuckled, "I would expect so." They came to the room that they both knew well. Twilight pushed the door open and the two unicorns were blasted with an explosion of confetti.
"PAAARTY!!" Pinkie Pie screamed, wrapping a hug around both of the purple unicorns. Since they were used to the sight of a surprise party, neither of them even flinched. However, both of them did smile at the sight of the five ponies that had been eagerly awaiting their arrival.
"Twilight, darling. How did the talk with Celestia go?"
"Well, we didn't actually talk a lot. Celestia is explaining what happened to Princess Luna, who was apparently unaware of what had happened to me." She walked over to her alabaster friend. "I think we're going to talk again tomorrow, but Dusk is staying here tonight." The six mares looked over at the colt that still stood in the doorway. He shuffled uncomfortably for a minute before walking forward and closing the door. Twilight noticed that he seemed uncomfortable around her friends, and it made her smile. As the others danced on a dance floor that Pinkie had constructed somehow, she sidled over to her genderbent counterpart. "I know that it's probably uncomfortable for you to be around all us mares, but you should try to be social." She looked down at her hooves. "I spent three months dwelling on the fact that you were all colts and I was a mare. I felt awkward without any other mares around. Don't act like I did, Dusk. Not for so long at least."
"This is a little different, Twilight. It's only for a day or two at most. I'm not worried, although I will admit than I am a bit uncomfortable..." Twilight smiled.
"Spike is in the other room if you'd rather talk to him, but I warn you, he might be asleep already." Dusk smiled.
"Thanks, Twilight. I'll do that." The purple colt trotted towards the door and went into the other room. Spike was there, curled up in a little basket. He smiled softly at the baby dragon and covered him with a blanket. Then he laid another blanket next to the basket and laid down, closing his eyes and falling asleep instantly.
"Dusk, get up," a voice said as Dusk felt somepony shaking him, "Dusk, we have to go talk to the Princesses." Dusk opened him eyes and looked up to see a purple unicorn. He yawned and stood up. "Hurry up! We need to go." She opened the door and trotted into the other room, which was strewn with streamers and ther party decorations. The other five mares were sleeping in various places in the room. Dusk chuckled as he saw Pinkie sprawled out on the dance floor, her hooves twitching slightly.
"Where are the Princesses?" he asked, looking over at Twilight. She glanced over a him for a moment.
"Celestia should be in the room where the Merencrith is. She sent one of the castle guards to inform me earlier this morning. I don't know if Luna will be there, considering that it has probably been a long night for her. I guess we'll just have to see."
"Okay then. Lead on, Twilight." The two purple unicorns trotted through the hallways of the castle, their hooves clacking on the marble floor. Finally, they came to the room where the Merencrith had been when it was enchanted. Twilight and Dusk both attempted to open the door with their magic, but stopped when they felt the presence of the other's magic. After a moment, they both laughed and Twilight pushed the door open with her hoof.
Celestia stood in the middle of the room, two guards flanking her sides. The magically inclined unicorns where both shocked that she had guards with her, and they shared a look of confusion. "Princess Celestia, what are the guards for?" The princess smiled lightly.
"Do you think it is unnecessary for a journey through the bridge?" Twilight blinked in confusion.
"You're going through the bridge? Now?" The white alicorn nodded in answer. "Why?"
"I think that I should have a conversation with the other universe's prince, so we can form an alliance between our universes."
"Wow," Dusk said, "That'll be interesting." He cocked his head to the side. "But why the guards? If Solaris were going to visit here, do you think that he would need guards?"
"You pose an excellent point, Dusk Shine. If you wish me to go alone, I will do so."
"You don't have to go alone alone. We could go with you," Twilight suggested. Celestia nodded and smiled.
"Very well, my faithful student. We will go now." Celestia approached the purple stone at sat in the corner of the room. Twilight and Dusk scrambled to either side of her. "Hopefully your prince will not think it uncourteous of me not to tell him ahead of time."
"I don't think he will..." Dusk said, raising a hoof to the stone. Twilight and Celestia followed suit, and they all touched the stone, the white sphere surrounding them and carrying them to the other universe. They saw that two guards were stationed at the door, and that they were staring a them with fear. Twilight had never seen a guard be afraid before. "Guys, it's okay..." Dusk said. Their eyes turned to him, and they visibly relaxed. "We need to see Prince Solaris. If you could go get him for me."
"Of course, Dusk Shine..." One of them said, still staring at Princess Celestia. Both of them galloped out of the room to get their Prince.
It seemed to take forever for the guards to return. When Prince Solaris also entered the room, Dusk trotted over to him. "Prince Solaris!"
"Dusk Shine, my student. I'm glad you have returned safely." He looked over at Twilight Sparkle. "Miss Sparkle. It is good to see you again." Twilight and Princess Celestia approached Prince Solaris and the two solar regents looked the other over. "You are Princess Celestia, I trust? Have you told your younger sister to take care of your duties while you are gone?"
"Of course. I told Luna that I would try not to be gone too long, but I didn't know how long it would take."
"A wise decision. Now, if you would follow me to the conference room..." The prince led everypony to a small conference room. Twilight and Dusk retreated to a couple of chairs in the corner so that the two rulers could talk more privately. After awhile, they both yawned rather loudly, and a slight blush was reflected between them.
"When did you go to sleep last night?" Dusk asked. Twilight thought abut it for a moment before shrugging. "Late I would presume?" She nodded, yawning again.
"Dusk?" Solaris asked. Both of the purple unicorns looked over at him. "You may lead Miss Twilight to the guest quarters that your friends are currently staing in. I'm sure they are looking forward to your return." Dusk nodded, and they left the alicorns to their discussion. They trotted through the halls, looking for the familiar door. Dusk opened it with his magic and they went inside.
"Dusk!" The five colts inside the room cried. Twilight's eyes roved over to Elusive, and she smiled. She and Dusk trotted inside.
"Howdy, Twiligh'," Applejack said politely, and the others said hello too. Twilight tried to respond, but was interrupted by a yawn.
"Twilight hasn't had much sleep lately. She was going to take a nap." Dusk closed the door, and Twilight blushed. "Here..." Dusk's magic illuminated a bed as he rearranged the blankets on it, "You can sleep here." Twilight nodded and laid down in the soft bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly.
When Twilight awoke, she thought she was alone. Judging by the way the sunlight was shining through the windows, she figured that it was starting to become evening. She got out of the bed and made it again before she realized that she was not the only pony in the room. She looked over at the cot watching her from the corner of the room. "Elusive..." she approached him. He looked tired, but his face brightened as she approached. "Where is everypony?"
"They all went out it stretch their legs, but I stayed here so that you wouldn't be alone when you woke up." Twilight smiled at this.
"I'm glad you did," she replied, hugging him. They went to a small table in the middle of the room and sat down.
"I missed you," Elusive mumbled, "I know it was only a day, but it felt like forever." There was a pink blush creeping up his pale white face.
"I missed you too." Twilight whispered, leaning into his shoulder. She looked up at his face, and he looked down at her. Their faces moved closer, and their lips met just as the door to the room was opened. They didn't hear it though. They didn't hear anything, or see anything, or know anything other than each other for that moment. When the kiss finally broke and they realized that the door was open, they both turned a deep shade of crimson. Dusk Shine, Applejack, Rainbow Blitz, an Butterscotch all stood open mouthed at the sight before them. Bubble Berry was grinning at them.
"Aww, I knew you guys liked each other! I was gonna throw a party, but I decided that you might want to keep it a secret and tell us when you were ready, so I didn't because I didn't want to ruin your surprise because that would be awful! Then you wouldn't be able to tell it and you might get upset or sad or-" Dusk Shine clamped a hoof over Bubble's mouth.
They all stood still and quiet for a moment, until Twilight muttered, "Surprise..."
"How long have you two...?" Dusk asked. Twilight and Elusive smiled.
"I've known that Elusive was...different for awhile now. It's part of the reason I spent so much time at Carousel Boutique. He just seemed so much easier to talk to then the rest of you. Well, except Dusk, but well...he's me, so that's not surprising," Twilight explained. She leaned into Elusive's side again.
"And I've liked Twi for quite a time as well, though I don't know exactly when I realized it." Elusive smiled at Twilight. Both of them got up and trotted over to the others.
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Bubble Berry cooed. He wrapped a hug around both of them. They smiled, blushing softly. Bubble leaned in almost conspiratorially, "Can we have a party?" Twilight giggled, and glanced over at Elusive, who smiled and nodded.
"Of course, Bubble." Suddenly, the pink pony was behind a party cannon, and confetti rained down of everypony. They all laughed and Twilight and Elusive kissed again.
The party lasted a long time, and it was late into the night when they all finally decided to go to bed. Twilight bade the others all goodnight, and went to spend the night in the other room with Spines. The little dragon had fallen asleep hours ago, and Twilight went straight to bed.
In the morning, Twilight was awoken by a turmoil of activity. Apparently, the Prince and Princess had asked to see them all as soon as possible. Suddenly awake at the thought, Twilight rushed out of the room with everypony else. They came to the conference room and walked inside. The two sun regents were already there, waiting patiently. Eight chairs sat at one end of the table, and they each took one.
"My little ponies..." Solaris began, "Princess Celestia and I spent yesterday conversing on the topic of the bridge between our universes."
"We have decided that the bridge will not be something made public, but that you all will be allowed to use it," Celestia continued, "Any time that you are in the other universe, you should consider yourself twin or sibling to your counterpart."
"Okay, so we all have to keep this secret, right? Because the monsters from one universe might get into the castle somehow and go through to the other universe," Twilight said. Both Celestia and Solaris nodded.
"I hope it does not bother you." Solaris's voice came to Twilight's ears, but she wasn't quite listening. She was looking over at Elusive. She looked back at the prince, who gave her a strange look before smiling. While it was a small smile, it also had some sly characteristics. It was almost as if he knew what was going on. Twilight blushed ever so slightly.
"I don't think it should be a problem," she said, "Those sound like very reasonable and agreeable terms." She turned to Celestia. "Do you have a set time that you wish to go back, Princess?"
"Twilight Sparkle," the alicorn replied, a hint of laughter in her voice, "I think I can manage to get back in my own. You can spend as much time here as you wish. You did create the link between our two universes, after all." The crimson tinge in her cheeks turned to a full blown cherry color.
"R-right," she stammered, "I guess I'll be seeing you later then, Princess."
"Yes, well," the princess said, "I really should be getting back. Luna probably has her hooves full with both the sun and moon. I shouldn't leave her with such a burden." Celestia stood. "Goodbye, everypony. I hope to see you all again soon." The regal princess exited the room.
"Well," Twilight began, "It's good that we finally got that all sorted out." She looked around the room. "I'm going to go back to the room and sleep a little longer. We were all up pretty late last night."
"I'll walk with you," Elusive announced, moving towards her. She smiled and the two of them walked out, trotting down the halls in synchronous rhythm.
After a quick nap, Twilight felt very refreshed and very determined. She approached the colts, who were talking in the middle of the room and hadn't noticed her yet. "Hey guys," she said, and they all turned to her, "I have an idea."
"What kind of idea, dear?" Elusive asked. Twilight smiled.
"I think that you all should go through the bridge with me. I know that Elusive talked to Rarity once during my mind links, but none of you, save Dusk of course, have actually gotten to see what the other you is like."
"I doubt than any mare could be as cool as I am," Blitz murmured, and Twilight raised an eyebrow, "but, uh, we should totally go meet them or whatever." Twilight smiled.
"So, what'd you say guys? Are we all going?" Twilight asked.
"Of course," Elusive said.
"If you want me to," Butterscotch mumbled.
"I guess so," both Blitz and Applejack sighed.
"Sounds great. I could see your library for a change," Dusk said, nodding slightly.
"Ohmygosh! This is going to be so fun! I'm going to be able to meet myself and she's going to be sure excited too and we're going to have to throw a "Welcome Genderbent Ponies" party and...." Bubble Berry jabbered relentlessly. Twilight giggled lightly at the pink pony.
"So I think we're all in agreement. Lets go!" Twilight said excitedly.
Seven ponies stood in front of the beautiful shimmering stone that separated Twilight's universe from the one they were in. Thy had decided that they all were going to go at the same time, and so had circled around the stone. Twilight raised a foreleg to the device, waiting for the others to do the same. When they had, she turned to Dusk and nodded. Both of the purple ponies had wanted to do the countdown, and so they had decided to do it together. "Three...Two...One!"
All seven ponies managed at touch the rock at exactly the same time, causing a huge silvery white sphere to engulf the group. For Twilight, this was the normal routine, and Dusk wasn't concerned, but the others were slightly scared by the thick, magical barrier, and Twilight could see Butterscotch cringe, whimpering slightly. Before she could say anything to comfort the colt, however, the popping sound had announced their arrival.
"Twilight!" A chorus of voices exclaimed, and Twilight looked up to see her friends entering the room.
"We was just about to come see you," Applejack said, "Didn't know y'all would be comin' back so soon."
"Well, I did spend three months there, Applejack. I missed you guys, and I brought some ponies for you all to meet." The colts smiled, and Twilight introduced them. "You all know Dusk Shine already, but this is Elusive, Rainbow Blitz, Butterscotch, Bubble Berry, and, well, Applejack." She turned to the colts. "And just in case you've forgotten, this is Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and...Applejack again." She smiled faintly.
The colts and mares began to talk amongst themselves, and Twilight felt a small surge of pride. She was bringing together her friends, and they would finally get to meet each other. For awhile, Twilight just listened as the others talked, and after some time, she noticed that Dusk Shine was no longer engaging in conversation either. As she studied his expression, he noticed that he looked...dazed was perhaps the right word, and she followed his line of sight to see what he was looking at.
Scratch that, who he was looking at.
Rarity had not yet noticed that her every movement was being watched by Dusk Shine. Twilight looked from her double, to Elusive, then Rarity, and back to Dusk again. It seemed that both herself and...well, they were technically the same pony, weren't they? Anyway, it seemed that they had near identical tastes, which is something that she realized could've been and probably should have been anticipated.
This was turning out to be a very interesting visit, and they hadn't even been there for an hour yet. Twilight sidled over to Dusk and gave him a cheeky smile, to which he simply began to blush. To save him from the awkwardness, Twilight walked into the middle of her friends. "Ahem," she said, and they all turned to look at her, "Perhaps we should head to Ponyville? We've all been sleeping in the castle for far too long. You boys don't mind, do you?"
"No, of course not," Dusk said, "Prince Solaris agreed to let us stay for a whole week if we wanted to. Sorry, Twi, you were still asleep when we asked, and when you mentioned it after you woke up, we just let you go with it." Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, okay then. Now, everypony is going to be staying with their double. Remember, you are not to consider yourselves the same pony when you talk to others. I don't care how you do it, be it cousins, sibling, or twins maybe, but let us know which you choose so we can act accordingly." Twilight stepped over next to Dusk and the others paired off as well. "Come on gang, lets get our 'relatives' home." Six pairs of near identical ponies trotted side by side out of Canterlot Castle.
It was hard for both groups of Element bearers to go unnoticed, but everyone seemed to just go with it, considering who the ponies were. They were used to oddities popping up around those specific six mares, after all, they had done some pretty crazy things, from saving princesses to battling a changeling army. They simply didn't know that the others had done the exact same thing.
So, the walk to the train station was pretty uneventful. Twelve ponies got onto the Friendship Express and headed towards their home, Ponyville.
When the train had arrived in the station, everypony decided to get to their designated houses to get some sleep. Two very powerful purple unicorns trotted towards Ponyville's Books and Branches Library, chatted softly as they did so. The door of the library creaked open as they stepped into their familiar home, though it was a bit more familiar to one of them.
"Twilight?" came the voice of a small purple dragon. The two ponies jumped, having forgotten about him.
"Spike, when did you get back here? Weren't you at the castle before?" Twilight asked.
"Princess Celestia sent me back to Ponyville, because I was getting a little bored of being around girls all day," he said, "but it looks like we've got the guys around now too!"
"Yep we--" Twilight stopped, "Oh, no! Dusk, what about Spines? Was she still at the castles when you guys came through?" Dusk smiled softly at her concern.
"Solaris sent her back to 'watch the library', though I think I know why he actually did it now." He purple colt looked down at Spike, smiling knowingly.
"Oh, good," Twilight breathed, "I was afraid that we'd left her at the castle all alone."
"Hey, if she's anything like me, she'd be happy to be at the castle. She could probably hang out with Shining Armor's duplicate," the little dragon said defiantly. The unicorns both gave him identical smiles, one eyebrow raised and a smug sort of look on their faces. "That's a little creepy."
"What's a little creepy?" they asked him unanimously, to which the little dragon began to laugh.
"That!" he said between giggles. Dusk and Twilight looked at each other, slightly confused. "You guys keep doing the exact same thing."
"Oh," Twilight said, "Well, I hope you can deal with that for a few days."
"Twilight," Dusk said, "If it is going to be a problem, we could always give him some time off. After all, there are going to be two librarians here for awhile anyway. Besides, this way he won't bother us when we're studying." A grin spread over the colt's face. "He can spend the week with Elusive and...Rarity..." A dazed look passed over Dusk's face before he composed himself again. "Anyway, I'm sure they'd let him stay for awhile."
"That's a great idea, Dusk!" Twilight said, "Spike, you can head over now, if you'd like." The little purple dragon was gone before Twilight could say anymore. The unicorn smiled at his antics, but looked over at Dusk with a slightly concerned expression.
"What?" Dusk asked, "Is something wrong? Do you think he shouldn't go?" He trotted up to his duplicate.
"Well, no, but..." Twilight sighed, "Spike has had a crush on Rarity since he first laid eyes on her, but now you've come along. I know you like her Dusk, it's pretty plain for me, considering that I like Elusive. I suppose your little Spines will feel the same once she finds out that Elusive likes me too. I just...I know it's a little selfish, but I don't want Spike to get hurt."
"I know he'll be hurt, but..." Dusk sighed, "Maybe it's time that our little dragons found, ya know...another dragon, and not one of the mean ones like they they met at the migration, which I'm assuming Spike went to?" He looked over at Twilight, who nodded. "Perhaps if we could have them meet each other, it would help with the fact that...well, you know..." He shuffled uncomfortably for a moment.
"Yeah..." Twilight agreed awkwardly, "But...lets worry about that later. We haven't studied in ages!" She smiled lightly, and Dusk returned the gesture. The two unicorns settled down on the couch and levitated over some books. Twilight delved into 'Advanced Unicorns' Guide to Illusions', which she hadn't read for the three months she'd been in the other universe. Dusk had had the book, of course, but her page wasn't marked. Twilight hated having to look through a book to find her place back.
"'Starswirl the Bearded's Complete Unabridged Guide to Morphing Spells'," Dusk read, "I wonder if it's any different from the one I have back home." Twilight looked over at him.
"Hmmm..." she wondered, "Do you think that because they were different genders, they would have written their books differently? Maybe one even knew something that the other didn't?" She grinned. "Ooh! We have to find out! You read that book and tell me anything that you find in it that isn't like the one you have, which I assume you've memorized from front to back already?"
Applejack and, well, Applejack trotted though the orchard of Sweet Apple Acres. The female Apple was suddenly stricken with a thought. "By Celestia! I nearly forgot! We need at figure out how we're gonna do this. You need a different name, Applejack," she said, frowning slightly at how weird it was to call another pony by her own name.
"Yer right about that..." the colt replied, thinking for a minute, "Do you have any ideas?"
"Hmm... How about Applejohn? It'll be a might hard for our friends I suppose, but I don't suppose ya want a whole new name?" 'Applejohn' shook his head. "Didn't think so... Applejohn it is then, and you can be my....cousin? Can't get something too close now, or the family will get too excited..."
"They'd prob'ly never let me leave then..." Applejohn chuckled, starting to trot towards the farmhouse again. Applejack laughed along with him, nodding in agreement.
"Either way, they'll all be real excited to meet ya." Applejack smiled as she could see the lights of the house come in to view. "Ya ready, Applejohn?"
"Eeeyup."
"Well then, let's get a move on!" Applejack started galloping towards her home, longing to see the family that she had been missing ever since she had gone to the castle. Applejohn quickly followed her.
Applejack reached the door first and swung it wide just in time for Applejohn to gallop right inside. She followed, and found the both of them faced with the immediate Apple family. The three farm ponies stared for a second, before Applebloom gave a little squeal of delight. "It's another of our family! Ah can tell by the cutie mark! He's gotta be an Apple, right Granny?" The filly looked over at the older earth pony.
"Well, I'll be, Applejack. Who's this guest ya got here?" the old mare asked, getting out of her rocking chair and slowly walking over.
"This here's Applejohn, our cousin." The mare felt a bit bad about lying to her family, or to anyone for that matter, but if Twilight thought it was for the best, she supposed that she better not question it. She looked over at Applejohn, noticing the slight expression on his face that suggested that he didn't feel right with it either.
"Howdy y'all," he greeted, his unease quickly covered completely with his happiness to meet the gender swapped version of his family.
"Ah'm Applebloom!" the little filly piped up, grinning at Applejohn. He smiled back. "Gee, you look an awful lot like Applejack. Ya got the same freckles and everything!" Applejack was suddenly a bit nervous.
"Well, that's enough proof that he's an Apple, ain't it?" she asked, "Now, Applejohn. That's Applebloom, like she said, and this is Big Macintosh and Granny Smith." Applejohn nodded. "Granny, Applejohn can take the empty room upstairs, can't he? He's in need of a place to stay for awhile and he'll be willin' ta help with the chores."
"Oh, of course, Applejack. Big Mac and I will just go straighten it up..." The older green mare started up the stairs, and Mac followed.
"Oh that won't be..." Applejack sighed, "...nevermind..."
"Now ah can hang out with you two for a bit!" Applebloom chirped happily, grinning. She circled around the two older ponies. "You do look a lot alike, ya know. Are ya sure you're just cousins?"
"Yep! We're sure. Just cousins...." Applejack said a bit nervously, but the little filly didn't notice her tone.
"Aww, ah wish you were closer family... Then we'd get ta hang out more..." Applebloom smiled suddenly, "But we can hang out now, right?"
"Well, actually Applebloom, I was gonna show Applejohn around the farm..." Applejack said, and the male double looked over at her in confusion. Applejack was giving him a slightly nervous expression. Applejohn nodded and they trotted outside despite the protesting from Applebloom.
"What's wrong, 'cousin?' Ya look a might troubled," Applejohn said. Applejack sighed.
"I don't know if I can do this, AJ..." she mumbled, shaking her head, "I just don't feel right lying to mah own family. Ah think we'll need to talk to Twilight about this tomorrow... Come on, maybe I'll be able to last longer if we take a walk around. Wait fer the family to go to bed and all before we go back, so we don't have ta do anymore lying..."
"Well, I'd sure like ta get ta know yer family better, but ah suppose ah'd rather not lie anymore either, if we can help it..."
"I'm sure we can talk to Twi about it tomorrow and then ya can get to know them..." Applejack said, smiling a bit. Applejohn nodded.
"Ah, the boutique! It's been quite awhile..." Rarity said, sighing contentedly. "I say, Elusive, how different is my boutique from yours?"
"Well..." Elusive looked around, "My own shop isn't quite as, well....I mean no disrespect, my dear, but yours is much...girlier. But that's understandable! After all, you yourself are female and many of the ponies in this town, from what I've seen, are female. You have quite a lot of dresses here, dear. My shop is more vest-oriented as many of the ponies in my own Ponyville are colts..."
"Really? Hmm... Vests....I don't think I've ever had to make one of those before. Perhaps you should teach me, darling?"
Elusive looked a bit surprised. "Never made a vest? My dear, of course I would teach you to make one! We should start at once!" The two alabaster unicorns got to work finding some fabrics.
"Oh, these will work quite nicely don't you think?" Rarity asked, levitating a few swatches of fabric up to her double. Before the colt could respond however, the voice of a young filly came from upstairs.
"Rarity, is that you?"
"Oh my!" Rarity yelped, "What's Sweetie Belle doing home? She supposed to be staying with the Cakes!" The little pony galloped down the stairs, a little saddlepack on her back.
"Rarity!" She ran to her sister and hugged her, not even noticing the colt at the moment. "Where have you been? I was just grabbing some stuff to bring to the clubhouse, and I heard some pony downstairs. I wasn't sure who it was until you were talking about the fabrics, but I could have sworn I heard another..." The young unicorn noticed the colt watching her and her sister. "Rarity, who's that?"
"Oh!" Rarity looked over at the other fashion pony. "This is Elusive, dear."
"His hair is all styled like a girl."
"Sweetie!"
"What?"
"That's not polite! Now, Elusive and I have some work to do, so I hope you don't mind spending some more time away from the boutique. Off with you. Go play with your crusader friends."
"But..." the little pony started.
"Sweetie, now!" Sweetie Belle pouted for a second before trotting out the door. Rarity turned to Elusive, slightly embarrassed. "My apologies, but I simply cannot have her snooping about. We need to get our story straight, you know."
"Ahh, you're quite right, Rarity. Now....how are we going to do this?" The pristine white colt sat back on his haunches to think. "I suppose, being of unicorn lineage, we would have to be very closely related. Perhaps a brother, or maybe step-brother? I dare say we could find a way to make one of those work, could we not?"
"Brother, perhaps. The latter would be difficult, but I can handle brother. Long lost twin perhaps? Anytime Sweetiebell should ask why you're not always around, I can simply tell her that you have your own life that needs to be attended to, which is true, no?"
Elusive nodded. "That would work nicely, my dear Rarity. Now, about this vest-making...." At that moment, a little purple dragon burst through the front door.
"Rarity!" The whelpling exclaimed happily, "Twilight was hoping you would let me stay at the boutique for awhile. She and Dusk are really hitting the books, and they figured that they wouldn't need me for a bit..." He smiled a bit dreamily and the white mare, and Elusive noticed the stare. He had seen that very look come from another baby dragon...
"Oh, that would be splendid, darling. Do you mind being a pin cushion? Elusive is showing me how to make vests. Oh! I could make one for you! But I think I'll try on the ponyquins first..." Clearly giddy with excitement, Rarity got to work on trying to make her very first vest.
"Not there, Rarity. A bit higher. You must accommodate for the difference in the shape of a colt's body..." Elusive said, gently moving the needle Rarity was holding up just a bit to where it needed to be.
"Ah, thank you dear. Forgive me, I'm afraid this made take some trial and error... Spike! Pins, please." The baby dragon scurried over, offering her the pins. Rarity plucked out a few to pin up the vest. "You're absolutely sure that those pins aren't hurting you, dear?"
"Not at all, Rarity," Spike said happily, "Can't feel a thing."
"Well, good. I wouldn't want to hurt my little Spikey-Wikey...." Rarity smiled and continued her sewing, Elusive giving her gentle recommendations and hints along the way.
After some time, and several goes with a seam-ripper, Rarity's pony model was adorned with a quite lovely vest. Elusive smiled at the handiwork. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than acceptable for a first try. "Excellent, Rarity, though there are a few adjustments that you could make next time."
"Ah, yes, I know.... I'm sure I'll get the hang of this!"
"Yes, I think you will. After all, I think I've been able to master dresses, so you should be able to master vests."
"Oh, you've done dresses already, darling?" Rarity asked, sounding a bit disappointed. Elusive nodded a bit, a blush creeping across his face.
"While Twi was staying in our universe, she spent a lot of time at my boutique. She let me use her as a model when I tried my own hoof at making dresses. I must say, it is much easier to make an actual pony to work with."
"Why, darling, I could have just made a vest for you! It would have saved me some hassle!" Rarity giggled lightly. "Ah, well. I suppose I will just have to rope someone in for my next try."
"I'm sure Dusk would be more than eager to give you a hand there, my dear..." Elusive said, grinning a bit smugly.
"Dusk? Why?" The mare asked obliviously. Elusive was about to respond, when he noticed Spike not far away, still staring at rarity with such a dazed expression. He couldn't have the little dragon knowing about the feelings Dusk had, or at least, the feelings that Elusive assumed Dusk had. Twilight wasn't the only one who had noticed his expression when he had seen Rarity.
"Ah, I think we should wait until later to tell that story... Come dear, let me see all your wonderful dresses! I'm sure I could learn a thing or two from them." The two unicorns trotted over to observe Rarity's display of dresses, leaving Spike to his daydreaming.
Fluttershy and Butterscotch trotted towards the cottage. They were silent, observing the flora and fauna as they passed by. Neither of them wanted to break the silence, and it was a good thing that neither of them had to. By the time they reached the cottage, Fluttershy's critter friends had come to them, excited to meet the new colt.
"Hello there, little friends," Fluttershy said softly. Angel hopped over and up onto her head. "Why, hello, Angel. I have a new friend for you all to meet today." She looked over at her canary yellow genderbend. "Introduce yourself."
"I'm...." Butterscotch started, his voice faltering. The poor pegasus was nervous. He knew that they were just like his animal friends back home, but he was still afraid. He softly cleared his throat and tried to continue anyway. "I'm....I'm B....B...Butterscotch...." He used his wings to cover his face, afraid of what the animals might think of him.
"Angel!" he heard Fluttershy's soft cry as something landed on his head. Gently, he lowered his wings, looking up at the little white bunny.
"He looks just like Angela..." he mumbled, smiling a bit. Angel softly stomped at his head, making Butterscotch giggle. "He acts like Angela too."
The rest of the woodland creatures began to crowd around Butterscotch, chittering happily at their new friend. The winged-pony was still nervous, but not nearly as nervous as he had been. These animals seemed just as friendly as the ones back home, and much nicer than the ones he had met at the Grand Galloping Gala...
"Aww, Butterscotch! They like you!" Fluttershy cooed, giggling. Butterscotch blushed.
"Not much of a surprise, really..." he mumbled, "...considering...."
"Yes, well.... Come on, friends. Let's show Butterscotch the cottage. He's going to be staying with us for a little bit." Fluttershy led them into the little cottage, which seemed bigger on the inside. All the critters fit inside just fine and there was plenty of room for the two pegasi.
"It looks just like my house...." Butterscotch said, smiling. Fluttershy smiled in return. She had been hoping that her house was similar enough to make him feel at home, especially since he seemed so nervous around her animal friends. I was probably just a lot to take in at one time. The yellow mare hoped that Butterscotch and her critters could become close friends, just like she hoped to become good friends with the animals that Butterscotch took care of.
"Well, now. Butterscotch, I have an extra room you can stay in. Do to want to come upstairs and help me clean it up? It hasn't been used in awhile."
"Oh, of course, Fluttershy..." the colt replied, nodding. Fluttershy put out some food for the critters and led her mare duplicate upstairs to the unused bedroom.
"You know, I don't think I've used this room since the Cutie Mark Crusaders spent the night..." she remarked as she opened the door.
"Hmm, I remember that, of course it wasn't exactly the same, but..." Butterscotch giggled, "I don't know about you, but mine got me into a lot of trouble that night."
"Yeah, me too..." Fluttershy giggled, "Well, we had better get this room cleaned up so you can sleep here tonight." The two shy ponies started straightening up the room, staying quiet as usual. They moved furniture and dusted. Pretty soon, their coats had turned a shade of grey from all the dust.
"Oh!" Butterscotch was the first to notice. "Fluttershy, you're all dusty..." The yellow mare looked at herself and then at Butterscotch.
"Oh, so are you!" She frowned. "I'm so sorry, Butterscotch. I'm not being a very good host, am I?" The other Pegasus shook his head, accidentally releasing a cloud of dust over his.
"Not at all, Fluttershy. It's just some dust..." He coughed a few times, waving the cloud away with his hoof. "Nothing to worry about."
Fluttershy frowned. "Well, I still feel bad. Why don't you go wash up? I'll finish up here..." Butterscotch looked ready to respond. "I won't take no for an answer."
"If you insist..." he said softly, making his way out of the room to the shower. He knew exactly where it was. He could still hear Fluttershy moving stuff around upstairs, and he knew she just wanted him to feel welcome here, but he still wanted to help. He quickly washed his coat and mane and headed back upstairs.
Fluttershy was in the middle of the room, sweeping up the last bit of dust. She noticed Butterscotch in the corner of her eye and jumped in surprise. She hadn't been expecting him to come back so soon. The dust pan flipped, launching a could of dust over the already covered pegasus.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you..." Butterscotch said, but he noticed that Fluttershy looked distracted. "Fluttershy....?" She covered her face with her wings as it went a bit pink, the cutest little sneeze coming from her.
Butterscotch couldn't help but giggle at her for a second, but then her trotted over. "Fluttershy, you should get washed up. You've done enough in here," he said gently. The mare's face flushed in embarrassment, and she hurried out of the room. Butterscotch watched her go, smiling softly.
The colt walked downstairs, the critters greeting him happily again. Angel hopped overs to him again, and the sight of the bunny made Butterscotch wish he was home. Solaris had taken care to make sure that he and his friends' jobs had been taken care of, but he still missed all his little creature friends. But then again, all his creature friends were right here, just the opposite gender. He still found it a bit strange, but he could handle it, right?
Fluttershy walked into the room awhile later, her coat and mane clean again, and spotted Butterscotch with her animals. She smiled a bit, happy that he was spending time with them. The critters seemed tho really like him too, which really wasn't a surprise since they liked her and she and him were essentially the same pony.
Fluttershy quietly snuck out to feed the birds and other critters that were still outside, letting Butterscotch have a little bonding time with the animals in the house.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake had enough trouble with one Pinkie Pie. Two was quite the challenge. The two pink ponies were as hyper as ever, hopping around excitedly as they talked back and forth.
"...Oh my gosh, and then we're gonna need..."
"...STREAMERS! Oh, and we can't forget about the cake!"
"I love cake, don't you? It's so amazing and delicious and..."
"...Oh my gosh what kind are we gonna have? Cause I like vanilla and chocolate and lemon and fruit and...."
"Funfetti cake!" They yelled in unison, giggling uncontrollably. They started prepping to make the cake, until Mrs. Cake addressed them.
"Uh, Pinkie? What are you talking about? Who did you say this was?" she asked. The two ponies stopped bouncing for a minute and looked at her.
"This is my super awesome twin brother Bubble Berry!" she said excitedly, "He's gonna be here for awhile and we're gonna throw a party! Isn't that great!?"
"Uhh, of course, but we didn't know you had a twin brother..." Mr. Cake said.
"That's the craziest thing!" Pinkie said happily, "Neither did I!" She hugged her counterpart, giggling.
"And I never knew I had a twin sister either!" Bubble said, grinning. The two bounced into the kitchen to prep for their party. The Cakes decided not to ask anymore questions. After all, this was Pinkie Pie they were dealing with.
But after a loud crash, the two bakers couldn't help but take a look into the kitchen. "Is everything all right in here?" Mr. Cake asked, looking at the two pink ponies.
"Yep!" Pinkie started.
"We just dropped everything because we had a super duper extra awesome idea!" Bubble finished, starting to hop up and down. "Oh, I can't wait! Can you?"
"Not at all!" Pinkie replied, hopping as well. "We better get going, right?"
"Right!"
"Right!!"
"RIGHT!" they yelled together, making for the door.
"Wait!" Mrs. Cake cried out, making both ponies stop in mid-air and look at her. "Could you at least clean up the mess you made in the kitchen first?"
"Oh, of course!" Bubble said, bouncing back into the kitchen.
Pinkie grabbed a mop out of nowhere and followed. "After all, we can't have a messy kitchen if were going to be baking for a party!" The Cakes watched the two ponies clean up the mess in record time, having the kitchen so clean that it sparkled in almost no time at all. After that, the two pink earth ponies promptly disappeared from the bakery.
Pinkie and Bubble had left to figure out how to pull off their sure duper extra awesome idea. The greatest 'yay-we-met-our-genderbent-doubles-but-shh-it's-a-secret' party ever! They bounced along, seemingly unable to trot like everypony else.
"We're gonna need someplace big!" Pinkie said.
"With lots of space for hanging streamers and balloons!" Bubble added. Both ponies stopped bouncing for a moment to think.
"I know I've seen the perfect place before...." they mumbled together, before both smiling suddenly, "THE BARN!" Giggling and chatting excitedly with one another, the pink ponies made their way to Sweet Apple Acres, hoping that they would be able to use the empty barn that the others had used during the pink ponies' birthday.
Just as they were getting close, they spotted the Applejacks trotting around the orchard. "Uh oh!" Pinkie said.
"Better go undercover!" Bubble said, pulling out a spy uniform. Pinkie did the same, giggling as they snuck towards the barn. However, there really was no need. The AJ's were preoccupied in some conversation about apples, and even if they hadn't been, the two pink ponies were plenty far from the farm ponies to go undetected.
After doing several unnecessary flips and spy maneuvers, Pinkie and Bubble entered the barn. It was big and empty, the only thing inside the place save themselves being some old hay. "Oh, this place will be perfect!" Pinkie said, grinning.
"It just needs a little bit of cleaning up and it will be the best place ever for our party!" Bubble added, nodding. He hopped over onto a pile of hay. "We better get this old hay outta here. It doesn't smell very nice..." He started pushing the pile towards the door, gathering stay bits of hay as he went. Pinkie Pie did the same, and they pushed all the old hay right outside the doorway.
"Now what? We can't leave this old stuff right in the way! How will they get to the party!?" Pinkie asked, rubbing her snout. "You're right, this old hay doesn't smell nice at all. Definitely not something to have at a party..."
Bubbled rubbed his snout too. "Yeah, good thing we got it out of the barn."
Suddenly, both ponies got a strange expression on their faces. Simultaneously, they let out very loud, comical sneezes, blowing away the pile of old hay and knocking both of them back on their flanks. The two ponies heard some surprised yelling, and they quickly shut the barn door, trying to remain secret.
"I guess we got it out of the way!" Bubble said, giggling. Pinkie joined in, and they shared a good long laugh before looking around the barn again. The mare jumped to her feet, starting to sweep up the floor with her tail.
"Come on! Let's get ready for the party!" Bubble Berry hopped up to join her, and they soon had the inside of the barn looking as though it were brand new. They shook their tails out outside before trotting back in to inspect the room.
"This looks great!" they said together, giggling. Pinkie grabbed her party cannon and fired, covering the entire barn in perfectly placed decorations.
"Now, it looks even better!" Pinkie said happily, hugging her double. "This is gonna be the best party ever!"
"Yeah!" Bubble agreed, hugging her back. "Especially now that we're both here to throw this party."
Pinkie frowned for a moment, her hair falling flat. Bubble gasped, leaning in close.
"What's wrong!? Is the party not good enough? I can get more streamers!" Pinkie shook her head, giving him a watery smile.
"I'm gonna miss you whenever you're not around..." She mumbled, and Bubble frowned too, his own hair falling flat.
"Oh..." he said, closing his eyes, "I'm gonna miss you too..."
Pinkie smiled, and suddenly her hair puffed up again. "But hey! Even if you're not here, I can visit your universe if I want to!"
"Yeah!" Bubble's hair also regained its tangled volume. He grinned broadly. "We're gonna have so many amazing parties!"
"You bet! But we should really focus of this one right now, don't you think?"
"Yeah! And there's only one thing left to do..."
The two ponies giggled a bit before shouting, "The Funfetti cake!" and scrambling out of the barn, being careful the shut the door so no one would discover their surprise.
Dash and Blitz had taken to the air as soon as everypony split off into pairs. The two aerodynamic pegasi would be sharing Dash's cloud home. They made their way there, and Dash showed Blitz around.
"It's almost as awesome as my house," he said, nodded. Dash raised an eyebrow.
"Almost as awesome?" she asked.
"Well yeah," Blitz said, chuckling, "Nopony could have a house like mine."
"Our houses are probably almost identical."
"I know, but mines more awesome."
"No, it's not!"
"Yes, it is!"
"No, it's not!"
"Yes, it is!"
Dash shook her head. "Ugh, let's just forget abut it okay?" She frowned. "If you don't like my house, you don't have to sleep in it."
"...I never said I didn't like your house!" Blitz said quickly, "No, no, I really like it here..." Dash rolled her eyes and smiled a bit.
"Good." The cyan mare stretched her wings out. "Now..." She trotted to the front door and swung it open. "Let's get some flying in! I haven't stretched my wings in ages." Blitz smiled and followed her to the door.
"Me neither! Maybe now I'll have a flying buddy who can keep up with me." Dash turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean 'maybe?' I could fly circles around you!"
"Hmph!" Blitz grinned. "You willing you put that to the test?"
"You are so on!" Dash replied, hopping off her cloud home and making for the nearest cloud. Blitz chuckled and followed her, landing next to her on the cloud. "So....let's say, first one across Ponyville and back?"
Blitz nodded, spreading his wings. Dash did the same. They counted down from three, and two rainbow blurs streaked across the sky. They kept right next to each other, their turn-around being completely in sync. They were now speeding back to the cloud.
However, just as they were about to reach the cloud, something happened. The two pegasi were just a bit too close, and their wings bumped together. Now, Blitz, who was slightly larger because of him colt body's build, wasn't really affected by this, but Dash was smaller, and it caused her to spin out of control. She managed to gain control again before Blitz realized what had happened, landing on the cloud a few seconds after he did.
"Gee, Dash. I expected better from you..." Blitz said teasingly, "What took you so long?" Dash rolled her eyes.
"You got lucky," she muttered, starting to unfold her wings, "but I'll win next t--" Dash grimaced as her wing unfolded completely. She looked at it, realizing that she must have clipped it when they bumped into each other.
Blitz noticed her discomfort. "Dash? You okay?" He looked over and saw her wing. "How'd that happen?"
"You hit me..." she mumbled, "I lost control for a few seconds and that's why you won...." Blitz trotted over to her and inspected her wing.
"I did that? Oh gee, I'm so sorry, Dash. I didn't mean to!" Blitz apologized, hanging his head.
"I know you didn't, but I don't think we're gonna be able to race anymore today...." the mare replied, gently trying to flap her injured wing. She grimaced again.
Blitz frowned. "I'm so sorry.... We should probably go home...." He muttered, "Do you need any help?"
"Help? Nah, I'm good..." Dash mumbled. Blitz took off for the cloud house and Dash slowly followed. The colt glanced back at the mare. He knew she would probably be okay, but he felt bad that he clipped her wing.
When the two reached the cloud house, Dash crashed on the couch, splaying her wings out over her. The one still ached terribly, but it was manageable in the right position. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.
A minute later, however, she felt something very cold against her wing. She yelped,trying to move away from the offending object, but the couch didn't give her much leeway. The mare glared up at Blitz, who was currently holding an ice pack against her wing. "What are you doing?"
"Just trying to help..." he mumbled, frowning and looking away, "...but if you don't appreciate it, I can--"
"No, no!" Dash said quickly, "You just....startled me, is all... No biggie." She had to admit, the ice definitely helped dull the pain. Blitz smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"You sure? I'd hate to do anything to deflate that ego of yours, Dashie." The cyan mare growled.
"Don't call me Dashie..."
Blitz chuckled, "Fine, fine... But still, I don't want to hope you if it'll hurt your ego..." He smiled cheekily at her.
Dash gave him a clearly unamused look. "You realize you just said that you have a big ego, right?"
Blitz blushed for a second. "Well...do you realize that you also just said that you have a big ego?" Dash rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, whatever..." she mumbled, smiling a bit, "So, Blitz, I know were like identical and all, but a stallion like you has got to have a couple of admirers..."
"Are we seriously having pillow talk time right now?"
"Just answer the question."
The male pegasus sighed. "There are a few..."
Dash raised her eyebrows. "Any of them your special somepony?"
"No!" Blitz snorted, "...They're not my type..."
"...You have a type?"
"Shut up, Dashie."
"No way, Blitzy." The two ponies stared at each other, looking completely serious for about two seconds. Then, they burst out laughing, which made Blitz loose his grip on the ice. Dash grimaced, and he quickly moved it back into place, apologizing profusely. They chuckled softly for a little while, and before they knew it, the ice pack had melted and was starting to warm up a bit even.
"You can take that off now," Dash said, and Blitz complied, putting the ice pack back in the freezer to refreeze.
"I really am sorry about that, you know..."
"Yeah, yeah...." Dash waved it off. "I'll forgive you this time because you're awesome, but don't let it happen again."
"So, you gonna head up to bed for a nap then?" Blitz asked, and the mare shrugged.
"Dunno... I might just stay here...." She closed her eyes and sighed, "The bed' stop far for a nap, but if you want it, be my guest."
Blitz shrugged. "I might do some more flying for a bit...." Dash nodded, already half asleep. Blitz rolled his eyes and flew out of the house, hoping to get some more practice in. After all, you could never practice too much!
Applejack and Applejohn spent the afternoon talking in the orchard. Both ponies really wanted the time to pass faster so they could visit Twilight and Dusk to talk about their...identity issue.
"You know, it's kind of incredible..." Applejohn commented, and Applejack looked over at him with an eyebrow raised.
"What's incredible?"
"This..." the colt gestured all around them at the trees, "It's so much like the orchard back home... Back in mah own universe..." He sighed. "You know what I mean? It's just....incredible."
Applejack nodded. "Yeah, I'd wager so..." A sudden loud noise made both ponies yelp. "What the hay was that!?"
"I'm not sure... That was a mighty odd sound..."
Applejack thought for a minute, but couldn't think of what it could've been. "I dunno either... It was probably nothin'..." Applejohn nodded in agreement. Looking around a bit suspiciously, the two ponies made their way back to the barn. They both had a feeling that they had heard that noise before, but they couldn't quite place it.
"Granny, Applejohn and I are gonna turn in fer the night. We gotta go talk to Twilight in the morning..." Applejack said as they entered the barn. The sun had just been lowered from the sky, signaling the night to begin.
"Alright, you better be going off ta bed too, Applebloom," the old mare said, turning to the filly.
"Aww....but Granny, ah ain't tired...."
"I said off ta bed!" Granny repeated sternly. Applebloom's ears drooped in disappointment and she slowly trotted up the stairs to her room. Applejack chuckled and she and her double made their way to their own rooms.
"Goodnight, Applejack," the colt mumbled, and the mare nodded.
"Goodnight..."
______________
Laying in her bed, a certain little filly found herself unable to sleep. There was something off about their cousin, Applejohn. Maybe other ponies weren't as observant, but Applebloom knew she had never seen two ponies that looked so similar. It just didn't seem right. Same coat color... Same mane color... Same freckles for ponies sake! And their cutie marks were exactly the same too!
"Something isn't right here..." she drawled, "There is no way that two ponies would be so similar! I mean, it's not like they're even brother and sister! He looks more like Applejack than ah do!"
She sighed, a little frustrated. "They're hiding something. I know they are! And ah'm gonna figure out what!" A determined smile appeared on her face and she nodded. Then, quite suddenly, she yawned a laid back on her bed, falling asleep instantly.
______________
In the morning, Applejack and Applejohn woke up bright and early. They went out to the orchard to do some chores before they left to talk to Twilight and Dusk. However, they didn't notice the little yellow filly that followed them outside.
"I really hope Twilight and Dusk will let us talk to the family about this..." Applejack was saying and her little sister hopped into a bush to watch them. The leaves rustled softly, and the two older ponies looked around before returning to their conversation.
"Yeah," Applejohn nodded in agreement, "It's kinda hard that mah own, well, sorta mah own family doesn't get to know how close we are. But then again, I see why they wouldn't let us, I mean... If we went around telling ponies that you and I were the same pony, they'd think we were crazy, or lying..."
"The same pony?" whispered the little filly in the bushes. She had no idea what they were talking about.
"We don't lie..." Applejack snorted.
"We did last night," Applejohn countered.
"...Yes, but we had to do that..."
"So they were lyin'!" Applebloom whispered, "But what the hay are they talkin' about? Maybe ah should get the other crusaders in on this..." The little filly climbed out of the bush and snuck away, galloping off to find her friends.
"Okay, that's the last of the chores, Applejohn. Let's head to the library now. I want to do this as soon as possible." The other farm pony nodded in agreement, and they trotted off towards the library.
______________
The two earth ponies pushed open the door of the library, ringing the little bell as they did so. The sign out front said the library was open, so they didn't bother to knock. The two librarians were awake and had been for a couple hours now. They looked up from the books they were studying.
"Applejack!" they both said in unison, each one actually addressing their own version of the farm pony.
"Actually, I'm not Applejack in this universe..." Applejohn said, "Since our named are the same, we decided that I would be called Applejohn instead..."
"Applejohn?" Dusk snickered, "Well okay. Anyway, what are you two doing here? Do you need something? Did something bad happen?"
"What? No, nothing bad happened," Applejack said, shaking her head, "We were just wondering if there was any way we would be able to tell the family about what's going on... Applejohn and I are having a little trouble lying about this to them..." She thought for a second. "And I think Applebloom might be a little suspicious, or confused, about Applejohn. She kept saying how similar we were. That little filly better not try to meddle in things she has no business meddling in..."
"Oh, I wish we could help you two, but the secrecy thing was Princess Celestia's idea... So I can't just tell you it's okay to tell them..." Twilight said, shrugging, "Sorry..."
"Aw, shucks..." Applejack muttered, "Well... I suppose we'll manage. We'll just avoid the subject, I guess, and hope Applebloom doesn't keep asking questions..."
"It's interesting..." Twilight muttered, "...Sometimes it's the foal that noticed more than the grown pony..." She smiled a bit and went back to her reading.
"Twi?"
"Yes, Applejack?"
"Do ya think maybe you could send a letter to the princess or somethin' and ask her about this whole 'not telling anypony anything' thing?"
"Oh! I suppose I could do that...but I'll have to go get Spike before I can send it. He's spending a few days with Rarity and Elusive in Carousel Boutique..."
"Alrighty then, Twilight... Thank ya kindly."
"No problem, Applejack," Twilight replied, grabbing a quill and some paper to write the letter. The two earth ponies decided to leave the unicorns be and find something else to do besides watching them read books...
