As it turned out, getting through the hallways in this world wasn't any easier for Twilight. After about thirty minutes Twilight gave up and slumped against the wall. At least she'd finally stopped sliding around in the princess boots; the brace still dug fiercely into her neck. Not that it was any comfort to a lost pony. She'd only been here half an hour and she'd proven herself completely incapable of even finding her way around!

Twilight bowed her head and sighed, fighting the tears that threatened to spill over.

The sound of somepony's hoofsteps echoing faintly down the hall caught Twilight's attention. She wiped her eyes dry, stood up, slipped and fell, pulled herself back up, and faced the direction of the hoofsteps. They were getting louder now, and Twilight prayed that whoever they belonged to was headed in her direction.

One of the castle maids turned the corner and stopped, her eyes wide with surprise at the sight of Twilight standing there. Twilight made note that the maids' outfit was slightly different over here.

Before she could say anything though, the maid had stumbled into a bow.

“P-princess Twilight,” she stuttered, “I didn't expect to see you here. M-may I ask what you are doing, al- uh, unescorted?”

That's right, she had to pretend she was a princess now. How would a princess talk in this situation? What would Princess Celestia say?

“You see, ma'am,” she said, trying to sound as formal as possible, “I was on my way to… my next meeting, when I took a turn down the wrong hallway and became lost. I am not sure how to return to where I was. Can you he- escort me, please?”

The maid must have been in a state of shock at the prospect of getting to directly help the young princess, because all she could do was give Twilight a dumb nod before pointing down the hallway she came.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, making to follow her.

The maid seemed a little uncomfortable; Twilight could see her tail was plagued by the occasional nervous twitch. Hoping to ease her a little, Twilight trotted up beside her and tried to start up a conversation.

“Thank you for this,” she said. The maid gave a nervous grunt in reply. Twilight continued, “May I ask your name?”

“My name is Silver Dust, Princess.”

“That's a pretty name,” Twilight told her. She could see the faint hint of a smile on Silver Dust's lips. That was a start. “How did you get it?”

“My parents were botanists,” she began, speaking easily now, “Have you ever seen a Silver Dust plant? They're very beautiful. I was hoping to one day become a castle gardener, but I haven't gotten the chance.”

“You should. I bet you'd be really good at it.”

“That's very kind of you,” Silver Dust said, “Where are you headed?”

“She's coming with me,” a deep voice interrupted.

The maid froze, panic replacing her earlier expression. Twilight barely noticed the windows that signified they had returned to the main hallways as she looked over the unicorn that had appeared in front of them. His combed-back blue hair against his orange fur would have been laughable if he wasn't staring daggers at the two of them. There seemed to be a black fury where his eyes were supposed to be. Twilight subconsciously tried to slide behind Silver Dust for protection as he came closer.

“Don't you have somewhere else to be?” he asked the maid.

“Y-yes, Father Watcher,” she squeaked, “Right away.”

Without another word to Twilight, poor Silver Dust turned and fled back the way they had come from. Father Watcher turned to Twilight, and she noticed that his expression had softened dramatically. There was a kindness in his eyes, which Twilight could now see were actually green and not black like she had first thought.

“I was worried about you, Princess Twilight,” he said, anger replaced by relief, “When you didn't show up on time, I was afraid something bad had happened to you.”

“I apologize, Father Watcher,” Twilight said, remembering what her counterpart had said about his name, “I lost my way. Miss Silver Dust was helping me find my way back.”

Watcher raised an eyebrow at this, but all he said was, “Very well. Try to be more careful in the future. We will talk on the way to the baths.”

Now it was Twilight's turn to be afraid. She wasn't sure what Watcher wanted to talk about, but whatever it was she wasn't going to know anything about it. He was going to be able to see through her in an instant! She bit her lip and began to follow him, frantically searching her brain for some kind of escape from this situation.

Her fears were soon relieved, however, at the reveal of what “talking” actually entailed. Watcher barely even looked at her as he went on about the state of affairs in Equestria. He certainly didn't expect her to answer. She tried to listen as best she could, but it was mostly boring political stuff that no ordinary pony would be interested in. She spent most of her time looking through the windows. It was a cloudless day outside, and she could even see the sun itself, but for some reason this world seemed darker than hers. Why could that be? She made a note to herself to investigate that further.

She also caught Watcher mentioning that Celestia had written back about how she was handling the civil unrest in the northeastern states, which was notable for two reasons: Twilight could barely imagine ponies of Equestria growing violent enough to warrant intervention – it must have been a very big issue – and her Equestria wasn't divided into states, it was divided into provinces. That probably didn't mean much, but she was curious about how history had played out to result in the division into states. She'd have to quickly locate a history book the first chance she got. Maybe she could even sneak it back home, just to prove she'd really come here.

It wasn't stealing… it was just collecting evidence.

“We're here,” Watcher said, cutting off her train of thought, “I will return in an hour to bring you to dinner. Where's that mare? Ah, here she comes.”

At first glance, the mare who approached them didn't look that old. Her soft purple coat practically gleamed in the light of the Illumination Stones that lined the room, and her hair was long and flowing freely. As she got closer though, Twilight could see that she lacked the spry movements of a young mare, and when she stopped in front of them it was obvious that she was older than her appearance let on. There were wrinkles starting to form around her eyes and mouth, and though well-kept her hair was tainted by occasional streaks of grey. Her skin was also starting to sag in that way that no beauty product could prevent.

This mare had a stern look on her face as she exchanged some curt words with Father Watcher. Twilight wasn't listening though; there was something else nagging at her. She felt like she knew this mare from somewhere, but she couldn't place where. After a moment, Watcher bid goodbye to Twilight and left her in the care of this familiar pony.

Immediately, the mare's expression softened and she smiled at Twilight, making the wrinkles on her face all the more prominent. That's when it hit her – this was the same mare that her mother bought her makeup from.

That's right, she thought, she works at the beauty parlor on Fifth reet. And in this world she… works here? Twilight racked her head for a name, but it eluded her. She'd only gone to the parlor once or twice when running errands with her mother, and it was hardly her favorite stop. She did remember her looking older than this, though, but that was probably the result of not having access to the castle's own stock of beauty supplies.

“Nice to see you again, Princess Twilight,” she said softly, “Have you thought about the mane cut I suggested?”

“I think I want to leave it the way it is, at least for now,” Twilight told Mrs.… Mrs.… It started with an 'L', she remembered, Would it even be the same name here? I mean, mine is, and so is Princess Celestia's, but… There was just so much she couldn't be sure of. It was as if every step she took left her feeling slightly less confident in her plan.

No! she scolded herself, I can't start doubting myself. I'm here, and I just have to make the best of it. Just for a few days.

“Well, alright then,” Mrs. L replied, “But if you ever change your mind, the offer is still valid.”

Twilight simply nodded and followed her over to the baths.

♦ ◊ ♦

“Thank you ma'am,” an exasperated Princess Twilight said to the maid who had helped her find her room. Closing the door behind her, she sighed and looked around at what her counterpart lived in. She'd never even seen this wing of the castle before, and she wondered briefly if this was a standard room for the castle staff.

The bed, desk, and dresser took up most of the space, and the rest of it was occupied by books and scattered parchment.

“Apparently they don't get the maids to clean up after her,” the princess lamented, stepping over a small pile of books and walking up to the desk. She climbed up onto the stool so she could reach the desk and grabbed the nearest parchment.

Record of illumination spell attempts, she read, The spell was originally conceived by… The scroll went on, giving a brief explanation of how the spell was created and how it was supposed to work. It was clearly pulled from a book, but a shiver went down Twilight's spine at just how similar the narrative style was to the way she spoke. She could very well have written this herself. Like she was looking into a memory she couldn't recall ever having.

The scroll went on to detail a two-day account of how Twilight practiced the spell, making slight changes in how she tried to funnel and focus her magic. Princess Twilight reread the last section over and over again, where it detailed exactly what she needed to do to most effectively cast the spell.

The princess was stunned. The paper was so thorough, so methodical. Not only was this world's Twilight casting magic, she was understanding it; she could explain how it worked and why. Father had always told her that there would be time for that when she was older, that young fillies shouldn't be worrying about magic spells when there were still things to learn about being a good princess.

And here was proof to the contrary. Princess Twilight had butterflies in her stomach as she read the last section again. Could she? Could she really do it? Should she even try?

Glancing up at her horn, Twilight took a deep breath and focused. She drew up what little magic she had inside her, letting it fill every fiber of her being, and directed it straight into her horn. Adrenalin filled her as the magic built up, threatening to explode. Breathing became harder and her head was pounding. Finally, when it seemed that the pain was going to split her head in two, she let it all go.

There was a dim flash of light and then Princess Twilight collapsed on the desk. Still struggling to get her breath back, she reached out a quivering arm and pulled the parchment closer to her. At the top of the scroll was a note that said: Class IV, Intermediate Spell. She groaned and threw the thing away, letting it hit the ground and unravel.

♦ ◊ ♦

Mrs. L brought Twilight to a large in-ground bath that more closely resembled a small pool big enough for three or for ponies to have a party in. An older unicorn filly was filling the tub with a bubbling soap. She was a white unicorn with brown hair who clearly used far too much hair gel for her own good. Twilight wondered how anypony with hair that stood up straight like that would be allowed to work at Canterlot Castle.

Upon seeing Twilight, the filly's wide brown eyes lit up behind her glasses and she bounced over.

“Hey there, sis,” she said, giving Twilight a soft punch in the arm.

Twilight said nothing. She didn't move, didn't breath. Her mind had momentarily shut itself off with this new bit of data. She couldn't even scold herself for not considering this possibility and asking Princess Twilight more about her life before agreeing.

“What's wrong, Twilight?” her apparent sister asked. She didn't even resemble either of Twilight's parents.

“Princess?” Mrs. L asked.

Twilight blinked and tried to stammer out an answer. “I'm… I'm just… I need to sit down.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Mrs. L asked, “Raven, call a nurse.”

“No!” Twilight exclaimed, “No, that's okay. I'm fine. I'm just a little tense.” Judging by how different everything was in this world, a nurse might have no problem realizing that she wasn't Princess Twilight. She'd ask a question about an allergy or something and Twilight would answer wrong, or something like that. Trying to distract herself from that particular thought, Twilight examined Raven's mane closer. Did their mother know she wore it like that? Twilight had a hard time believing that she'd allow one of her children to make a fool of themselves with that mane style.

Raven and Mrs. L exchanged a worried look, but relented. “If you're sure, Princess” Mrs. L said, “but if you don't feel well I want you to see somepony about it.” Twilight nodded and she continued, “Good. Raven, you go ahead and start the bath while I get the rest.”

“Alright Twilight,” Raven said, “let me get this thing off you.” Raven said, pulling the silver brace off of Twilight with her magic. She laid it down over on a nearby shelf, underneath which was a towel. Hoping she guessed correctly, Twilight went over and took off her boots, laying them neatly on the towel and walking over to the bath. It had only been a short while, but she must have gotten used to the outfit pretty quickly; as heavy as it was, she felt oddly naked without it. At least she was free to rub her sore withers now.

The water was comfortably warm, and Twilight immediately began to relax. After the day she'd had, she deserved it. She closed her eyes and sank further into the large tub. And then she let out a yelp as a surge of warm water fell over her.

“Oops,” Raven chuckled, “Sorry, Twi. I should have warned you.” She levitated a bottle of Mane 'n Tail over to her and stepped forward. “We'll start with your mane,” she said, drizzling the goo over her.

♦ ◊ ♦

Once Princess Twilight had recovered, she managed to find an easier spell to try. The first one was a dusting spell that seemed about as effective as simply wiping the dust from the shelves herself, but she cast it with ease. All of the Class I spells she found were pretty simple. There was one for locking the door, removing stains, one for changing the temperature of liquids, and a spell that dried your mane.

But as interesting as the reports were to read, these spells were just too simple. They were baby spells, and she wanted something that pushed her limits, narrow as they were. The first Class II spell she found was one that allowed the caster to imitate bird calls. She studied the sheet for a moment and then followed its instructions.

The energy drain was noticeable this time, but she shook it off quickly. What were some birds she knew? An owl. That seemed easy to start with.

Princess Twilight opened her mouth and began making the hooting noise. “Hoo hoohoo hoo hoo hoooo hoooo.” She then broke into a giggle. That was such a strange sound to hear coming from her own throat! It was so unlike her normal voice. What else? A sparrow. She opened her mouth and let out a rapid, dry trill. When she was done, she couldn't stop laughing. This was so much fun. Why hadn't she tried this years ago?

…oh, right, Father Watcher forbade it. No matter. She had time now; she would make the most of it.

Author's Note

We're introduced to four characters in this chapter! One of them is actually a background character from the show. Guess which one that is.

For those of you confused about the use of the word "arm", check this blog post: http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Daemon%20of%20Decay/blog/3