Princess Twilight had found a pair of sunglasses in Twilight's room. They helped, but this world still seemed painfully bright regardless. Every time Princess Twilight glanced out the window she felt like she should be squinting. She also found a hooded cloak, which from its appearance seemed barely used by Twilight. She put it on, thankful for not having to go around feeling naked. Other ponies did it, but she just couldn't after so long. Heck, even going barehoof felt odd to her.

Now that she was outside, though, Princess Twilight could not help but disregard the glasses and admire the way everything looked in this light. The castle gardens were so much healthier, greener and bigger. The grass under her bare hooves was also an unexpected pleasure after the cold stone floors inside the castle. She would have to start going outside more often.

As Princess Twilight admired the various plants and flowerbeds, occasionally waving at another visitor or guard, she tried a bit of her new magic on the plants, pulling on them with her levitation or trying to change the color of petals.

As she neared the front entrance of the castle, Princess Twilight noticed that the front gate was wide open for some reason. There were two guards, but they didn't stop or even question the pony walking in. The princess was amazed. Ponies could just walk in and out as they pleased!

A new idea formed in her mind. A terrible, exciting idea. As quick as she could, Princess Twilight raced inside through the front door, past some confused attendants walking about, and down the unfamiliar hallways until she reached her room. The other Twilight's room, that is.

There was a small pouch of gold coins (oddly designed coins too, in her opinion), but it wasn't enough. After a bit of scrounging, the princess managed to find a small box nearly filled to the brim with coins.

“She must have been saving for months,” Princess Twilight thought, “After all, I doubt she gets the same allowance I do if she's not a real princess.” Whatever she spent over here, she had more than enough to pay the other Twilight back once she got access to her own accounts at home.

She poured the contents of the box into the pouch on Twilight's saddlebags and slid them on over her cloak. She then managed to grab her sunglasses in her magic and slowly slid them into another pocket. Feeling immensely proud of herself, the princess hummed a merry tune as she left the room and traced her steps back to the front entrance of the castle.

The hard part came next. For a while, Princess Twilight stood outside the front door of the castle, looking through the open gate. She was trembling. There was no way the guards would let her through, right? It was unlikely. Even if she wasn't a princess in this world, they wouldn't just let a child walk out alone.

The door behind her opened, causing her to jump in surprise. A stallion came walking out, whistling to himself and heading for the road. Realizing her chance, the princess pulled her hood over her head and followed in his wake, close enough to be mistaken for his child but not so close that he'd notice.

She gulped as the guards nodded to the stallion as he passed by. The glanced at her, but didn't recognize her in her cloak and slouched form. She separated from her unaware guardian on the road, threw her hood down, and began wandering.

The roads were a familiar cobblestone, and the white stone buildings were just what she remembered from her own world. It was a large, crowded, beautiful city.

I missed this so much, she thought, getting to wander freely like a commoner. What's that over there?

There was a flash in one of the store windows that had caught her attention. Weaving through the ponies milling about, she got up close to the magical supply store and glanced inside. A large crystal ball was giving off occasional flashes of light. There was a deck of tarot cards spread out to display the different images, and a small cauldron was spilling over with smoke to give the whole thing an eerie feel.

But her excitement quickly died when the princess saw the “Adults only” sign in the corner of the window.

Why, if I had a guard with me they'd let me take whatever I wanted, she thought, grinding her teeth. What terrible irony. When she had the power, she wasn't allowed to use it. Now that she was free, she didn't have the power to exercise. She almost stamped her hoof in anger as she turned away.

What could she do? She continued down the road, watching the other ponies going by on their busy day. She wondered what they were up to. There was a pony in a business suit who walked into a joke shop. That seemed odd.

Two mares stood together and hailed down a cab. When it arrived, they kissed and one got into the cab while the other waved goodbye.

A pegasus touched down and joined two unicorns standing outside a beauty parlor.

“Oof!” Princess Twilight hit someone.

“Hey!” the older colt exclaimed as the princess rubbed her head, “You poked me with your horn!”

“I'm sorry, sir,” she replied, looking up at the grey colt.

He just snorted and readjusted his little glasses before turning his tail on her. She caught him mumbling something about “filthy commoners” as he walked away.

Princess Twilight briefly considered putting that concussive blast to the test, but she didn't feel like pressing her luck. There was a bookstore nearby. Maybe that would take her mind off of that brat.

The bell above the door twinkled and the princess was hit by the staggering smell of new books. It was rather inviting, actually. And the silence inside the bookstore was a comfortable one. A few other ponies stood around at the shelves, deeply immersed in whatever they were doing.

“Hello Twilight,” a kind voice said, causing her to jump at the recognition. It was the older mare at the counter. She continued, “I almost didn't recognize you in that outfit.”

“Oh, yes, it's… um… I thought it was cold out,” she lied, giving an unconvincing laugh.

“Well… alright. Try to enjoy yourself.”

The princess quickly made her way to the shelves and wiped the sweat from her brow. Apparently this world's Twilight did wander about freely. Getting inside the castle would be easier, if that was the case.

She picked out a few books that looked interesting. One was A History of Canterlot, Volume 1, another The Basics of Equestrian Religion, and last was a new release called The Last Assassins, about a group of griffin assassins from the early days of the Gryphon Kingdom, when it was still forming.

“I'm surprised you don't have these two books yet,” the mare at the cash register said, “They seem rather basic.”

“I do,” the princess quickly agreed, “They're a gift. To a younger student.”

“Well, that will be thirty-four bits; it's a little expensive.”

“I'm sure I have it,” Princess Twilight said, reaching into her pouch and praying that she was referring to the little gold coins.

The books fit snugly into her bags, and when Princess Twilight left she was feeling notably better than before. Where else could she go? There had to be at least one other interesting store nearby.

At a nearby card shop, she found a few postcards detailing the different landscapes, and bought a few of those to hold onto to compare to pictures of her home universe.

The beauty salon she passed before had a beautiful pair of hair clips that were sadly far outside of her current price range. According to the tag, they were imported from a place called the “Ascua Confederation”. She had no idea where that was, but the design was unlike anything she'd ever seen.

After stopping to chat with a local florist whose father grew the carnations she sold, the princess found herself a restaurant-looking building called “Donut Joe's”.

“Every five minutes I find something new to completely surprise me,” she said, quickly making her way inside.

The unicorn behind the counter took immediate notice of her and said, “Why, isn't it little Miss Sparkle. The usual, I presume?”

“That will be fine; thank you,” she replied, taking a seat on the empty stool at the counter. She was beginning to suspect that everypony in this world knew her.

“Milk okay?” he asked.

“Absolutely!”

“My, you're in a good mood today, aren't you? How's Spike?”

“It's a good day,” she said, watching him pile a few donuts onto a plate, “Spike is doing well.” She didn't know who Spike was, but she presumed it was just a friend of Twilight's. She couldn't imagine a parent naming their child that, but what did she know about naming conventions in this world?

The plate and a mug of milk were levitated before her. Joe went back to helping another customer, leaving Princess Twilight to enjoy her jelly-filled ball of wonderment. Donuts were a big no-no according to Father Watcher, but she'd done her best to get the attendants to sneak her some whenever possible. But those were usually plain and frosted. These were the good stuff. She quickly grabbed the next and chomped into it.

“What do I owe you again?” Princess Twilight asked, pleased at how inconspicuous she was being in the presence of the other Twilight's peers.

“Ten bits, as usual,” Joe replied. The princess smiled and levitated her coins onto the counter, moving onto her final donut.

Before she left, Princess Twilight counted up her remaining coin and wondered if there was anything else she could afford. On her way back to the castle she spotted an antique store. Putting on her sunglasses again to glance up at the sun, she judged that she'd only been gone an hour and a half at most.

How long could she afford to be gone? Oh, that's right – she didn't have anyone to report to in this world! Taking her glasses off again, the princess began humming again and made her way inside the little shop.

The stallion at the counter didn't as much as look up from his magazine when Princess Twilight entered. The store was dark, it was crowded with junk, and it was probably way below sanitation standards. Princess Twilight gave a silent “yuck” at the grimy floor alone, not sure if she really wanted to walk around in there.

It was primarily furniture in there, most of it old and in disrepair. There was a set of silverware, and over there an old chandelier. She found outdated tools and an old, broken compass. A polished sword from the “Second Great War” was locked in a display case near a set of shell jewelry. There were jars of small knick knacks and chests of old clothes.

Then she saw them.

She saw them next to an old, foreign changing screen and sitting on a dirty tablecloth half-draped over a stool. It was a full set of little red flats, made from some kind of soft, flexible material. They seemed so lonely, standing out in these drab surroundings. She slid one over her hoof, smiling when it fit perfectly. It looked a bit cheaper than her usual attire, but it was cute.

The stallion jumped when she laid the shoes down on the table.

“How much for these?” she asked eagerly.

The stallion hesitated for a moment before replying, “Make me an offer.”

“I have twenty-four bits left,” she exclaimed.

“…alright. That's enough.”

Princess Twilight didn't feel the smallest bit of regret as she handed over the last of her money to the pony before grabbing the shoes and getting back onto the street.

Once outside, she put her new shoes and chuckled. They certainly didn't match the cloak, but she didn't care. Three days ago, this would have been her wildest fantasy. Now, she was going around as if she was born to this lifestyle. But there were still some things she wanted to practice when she got back to her room; she'd spent enough time indulging for the day.

As she anticipated, the guards on duty – not the same ones as before – simply acknowledged her as she walked in, not even asking where she'd been. The freedom Princess Twilight now had filled her with a giddy joy. This world certainly was brighter than her old one.

“Twilight!” an attendant said, getting her attention as she was passing through the main hallway. She stopped to hear the newcomer out. “I thought you might like to know that Princess Celestia returned early. She said she was going to wait for you to return so she could talk to… are you okay?"

Princess Twilight could feel the blood draining from her face. Princess Celestia? Here?! Wanting to talk to her?!

She wanted to faint.

“I'm going to go lie down,” the princess said. The attendant tried to stop her, but Princess Twilight insisted that she was fine and continued on.

Panicked thoughts cycled through Princess Twilight's head as she continued wandering through the halls towards her room. The princess was back. The princess wanted to talk to her. The princess was the other Twilight's teacher. The princess would know that she wasn't the same Twilight…

The princess was around every corner. She was actively looking for the impostor. How could Princess Twilight have been so stupid?! She should have known something unexpected would happen. Why would the universe give her this freedom unless it intended to take it away?

She made it to her room without incident. She opened the door as far as it would go before it jammed up against a pile of books and then squeezed inside.

“Hello Twilight.” – Princess Twilight jumped in surprise – “You've made quite a mess.”

Princess Twilight couldn't say anything. She couldn't even breathe. She had been expecting Celestia; she hadn't expected what she found.

“Is something wrong?” Celestia was lying on the bed, the only uncluttered spot in the room, one of Twilight's scrolls open and floating in front of her. She had evidently been very curious as to what her student was writing about.

“W-wrong? No, no, no. Nothing's wrong,” she lied, unable to take her eyes off of the older princess.

Celestia raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Princess Twilight put on the most convincing smile she could.

“Well,” Celestia said, placing the scroll down and climbing off the bed, “we can wait a few more days before our lessons start again. I know I've been gone a while, but you probably want a few days to finish what you were doing and clean up. I like your new shoes.”

Princess Twilight could only nod dumbly at the mare standing over her. Bad move. Celestia pursed her lips and asked again, “Are you sure nothing happened while I was away?”

“No! Nothing,” Princess Twilight insisted, twitching nervously.

Celestia simply nodded and slipped out the door herself, closing it behind her. After a moment, she slumped down and started breathing again.

♦ ◊ ♦

As soon as she was out of Twilight's room, Celestia's expression hardened. Something was wrong with her student. It wasn't just her behavior.

There was a darkness inside of her. It was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place where she last felt it. Not that it mattered at the moment. Her faithful student had lied to her about nothing happening, and now something was growing inside of her.

But she wasn't going to directly confront Twilight about it just yet. Twilight was a smart filly, guided by a strong moral compass. There was no reason to betray her trust when she would explain what happened before long anyway, and Celestia wanted an answer for her when that happened. Twilight would trust her to know what was going on and how to fix it.

She passed a maid on her way, who bowed respectfully. She stopped and told the maid, “Go to my throne room and tell whoever is on duty there that I will not be following the rest of my schedule today. I have a personal matter I need to attend to.”

The maid humbly agreed and sped off, leaving Celestia alone with her concerns.

♦ ◊ ♦

The books and postcards were thrown on the bed and her saddlebags stuffed with all the class three and class four scrolls she could fit. Princess Twilight didn't even take off her cloak and shoes as she left and headed for the library. She'd already learned of its location from her other wanderings around the castle, but hadn't taken the time to stop and search through.

Now it may be her only hope.

This time, she didn't stop to admire the stacks of books or the brilliant windows and the giant hourglass. She threw her saddlebags to the ground and started scanning the shelves. She knew there were books on magic in here. This is where the other Twilight got all her information from, so there would have to be something for her too.

She pulled a few books on basic spellcasting from the shelf and levitated them back to where she was setting up with her. They were heavier than everything else she'd tried to lift yet, but she refused to let them fall.

With that done, she grabbed the first scroll and opened it. She couldn't let Princess Celestia know she wasn't the Twilight from this world. She only had a few days to catch up to her counterpart's…

A few days.

But she was supposed to leave at noon tomorrow.

The scroll dropped from her grip and hit the ground with a *clack.*

She'd be back home, with that damned brace around her neck and that damned Watcher scrutinizing her every move.

She'd finally attained the perfect life she always wanted, and it would be gone by tomorrow at lunch. Nopony but her would know. And nopony but her would be able to grieve about it.

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair!

A sob escaped her throat. Followed by another. And then she collapsed to the ground and began bawling into her hooves.

She didn't want to go back.

Not to that so-called life.

Not with everypony fussing over her, forcing her to adhere to their schedules. Not a moment to herself.

Where every action was planned out beforehoof by somepony else.

Where every damn emotion had to be suppressed in the name of public image.

Where any attempt to improve herself was rejected and denied by her superiors!

She would sooner die than go back there!

After a while her tears had stopped, but she hadn't moved. She needed to think, to figure out what to do next.

She meant it. She'd rather die than go back to where she came from.

Her future was finally in her own hooves.

She sat up, gazing at the hourglass.

It would all be gone by lunch tomorrow if she didn't do something.

There were hoofsteps behind her.

Princess Twilight turned around to face the librarian. Her distress must have been plastered across her face, and she imagined that her hair had probably been messed up in her crying.

“Are you alright, sweetie?” the librarian asked. Her concern was honest. It would have been comforting if Princess Twilight was looking for sympathy at the moment.

“I'm fine,” she rasped, smiling. It was an empty smile, but before the mirror all of her smiles had been that way. She knew how to make it convincing.

“You should probably be spending more time outside or…”

“I'm fine!” Princess Twilight repeated, perhaps with a bit more force than she needed to, “Please. I just want to be alone.”

The librarian nodded, looking very unsure of how to handle the situation, and barely gave a second glance as she left.

Once she was sure she was alone, Princess Twilight stood up and started looking at the shelves again. She had an idea of the spell she needed. Hopefully it wasn't anything more difficult than a class four spell.

Author's Note

In this chapter, a young Jet Set makes an involuntary cameo.
I'm only pointing it out because I don't think you'd be able to tell who it was otherwise.