My Little Human: Equestrian Girl

Chapters

Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Eight
Chapter One
Chapter Seven

Chapter Two

The rest of the week was a painful exercise in patience. Constant whispers, stares, and pity for having the audacity to not believe in magical girls from other worlds took their toll on Twilight.

But the library books were the last straw.

At the end of each week, students overdue on their library books would be given a pink slip with their fine printed on the paper. Twilight was always organized, and her record with the library was spotless.

Until now, Twilight thought glumly as Mrs. Cheerilee put the pink slip on her desk.

Twilight started to berate herself. How could she have forgotten?

But Twilight knew the answer. In all her fustrations with the girl that shared her name and face, she'd completely forgotten to return the books like she had jotted down on her calender to do on Monday.

Twilight's hands curled into fists.

Twilight looked out the classroom window. The lawn was becoming dotted with brightly coloured leaves. Her gaze traveled to the statue that seemed to meet Twilight's eye.

Instantly, a spark fired up in her mind as an idea came to her.

Twilight smiled for the first time that week and stood up straighter in her uncomfortable plastic seat.

"Is anything wrong, Twilight?" Mrs. Cheerilee asked in concern, "I understand all this about the other Twilight Sparkle has been a little much for you..."

"No, everything's going to be fine. It's hard to believe, but what else can I believe in, right?" Twilight said cheerfully.

Sunset Shimmer and her friends turned their heads at this in utter disbelief, before Mrs. Cheerilee reminded them to face the front. Sunset Shimmer's gaze lingered until she received a second reminder.

The bell signaling the end of the day rang and the students rushed out the door. Twilight, however, got up from her seat and stretched leisurely, and then sauntered over to the library to return her late library books. She took the librarian's remark about her uncharacteristic tardiness with a smile as she reached into her lavender purse, pullings out the remains of her lunch money to pay for the late fee.

Twilight went outside to use her cell phone, dialing in the number of her house.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dad," Twilight said.

"Hello, Twilight," her father answered from the other end, "is anything wrong?"

"No, I'm just going to be home a few minutes later than usual. I'm going to be doing a scientific experiment on my own after school, and it might take a little longer than usual to do. I'll be home by five."

"A scientific experiment?" Twilight's father chuckled, "well, have fun then. Tell me and your mother all about it when you get home."

"I will," Twilight promised.

"Also, one other thing. I've been hearing some odd things about your school. Are you all right, honey?"

Twilight's grip on her cell phone tightened. "Fine. Just fine."

"Well, all right," Twilight's father said, "good luck with your experiment. Love you!"

"Love you too, Dad," Twilight said.

At this point, she had spent so much time lollygagging that the front of the school was empty of students and teachers.

Twilight made sure there wasn't anyone around. She didn't want to admit that she was going to try the rumour Melody mentioned.

Twilight strolled over to the marble horse statue, crouched and put her hand on the base of the statue. She shut her eyes in concentration as she listened for any noise.

Nothing. Not even the sounds of passing cars or the athletes practicing in the back field.

Twilight grinned. That was it. There was no other Twilight talking, there was no such thing as other worlds, and there definitely no such thing as magic.

Twilight savoured her victory for a few moments before she heard electricity crackle around her as her limbs started to jerk around uncontrollably.

Twilight forced her eyes open to see that she glowed bright purple. Lightning danced in front of her eyes as a electrical hum buzzed in her ears. She forced her head upwards to find her hand glued to the statue's base, which glowed pure white.

Twilight screamed as her hand sank into solid marble like quicksand. The statue was sucking her in, slowly at first, but accelerated its pace by the second.

Twilight tried to pull away for a second time, but her limbs wouldn't cooperate as her entire arm sank firmly in the statue, and then her weight tipped forwards, causing her to lose her balance and sending the rest of her body tumbling through the solid marble.

All Twilight remembered as she fell into the statue was a tunnel that was made with all the colours of the rainbow.

Twilight woke up on a cold silver floor. She groaned.

"Where am I?" Twilight asked the empty room.

The room gave her no answer as she tried to stand up. But her limbs felt odd, as if she suddenly could not remember how to move her hands.

Twilight forced her hand down on the floor to push her upwards, only to hear a faint clop when her hand hit the floor.

She cast her gaze over to the sound... only to realize that she no longer had a hand. Instead, a purple furry leg with a hoof replaced it.

Twilight scrambled to her four feet and looked around the room to find a darker purple full-body mirror. She screamed when she caught sight of her own reflection.

An ugly purple muzzle replaced her face with a small horn protruding from her forehead. She was covered in lavender fur with a darker purple mane that stopped just above her eyes. On both sides of her rump was a pinkish-purple star with several smaller white stars that clustered around it like a constellation.

She was a horse... no. Not a horse. More like a unicorn from the fantasy books Twilight used to like as a little girl.

The human turned unicorn looked around the room. There was nothing else in it but the mirror, as if the room had been made for the sole purpose of housing it. Twilight clumsily limped towards the mirror and reached out a hoof to touch the glass.

She was interrupted by a grey stallion that burst into the room, wearing golden plate mail body armour and a helmet.

"Hey!" the stallion exclaimed, "what are you doing here? And what was that scream for?"

"Um, there was a spider. A big, hairy spider. It sort of took me by surprise," Twilight said.

The guard, as that's what Twilight had guessed him to be, scowled at her. "Fine. How did you get in here? This area is off-limits to tourists."

"Oh, it is?" Twilight inquired, "I was just looking around. I couldn't find the exit, and this place is just so... interesting."

The guard snorted, apparently satisfied. "Very well, then. Please leave and tell no one about what you saw in this room."

"Right. Of course. I'll do that," Twilight said as she exited the room quickly with the guard shutting the door.

Another guard, this one orange but still wearing the golden plate mail and helm of his friend, seemed shocked when she saw Twilight exiting the room.

"Excuse me, sir," the ornage guard said, "but I'm pretty sure our orders were to keep ponies out of that room."

"Somehow she slipped in. How, don't know, don't care. Probably mucked up a teleportation spell," the grey guard said gruffly.

"Shouldn't this warrant some kind of questioning, or at the least a report?" the orange guard asked in concern.

Twilight took a sharp intake of breath and prepared herself to run.

"I did the questioning already. She's clueless. As for the paperwork, if we sent a report every time some Sparkle, Glimmer, and Shine stepped a hoof out of line, the kingdom would be out of paper in a week," the grey guard said.

The orange guard frowned. "But-"

"If you think it's that important, take it up with the Captain. I'm sure he'll give you a nice pat on the head for your valiant efforts. In fact, I have something I need you to do while on your way there. Take this mare and kindly show her where the exit is."

The orange guard bowed his head in defeat. "Yes, Sir."

Twilight exhaled loudly in relief.

"This way, Miss," the guard said dejectedly.

Twilight accompanied the guard as he walked her through multiple clandestine halls. She didn't want to push her luck, but this was a good chance to figure out why she was a unicorn.

"So, what's your name?" Twilight asked politely.

"Flash Sentry," he sighed.

"Do you have any idea about the mirror in the room?" Twilight cautiously ventured.

The guard shook his head. "The Princesses know, but they're not saying anything. There's rumours going around that's it's a portal to another world, but that's impossible. And I have one question for you. Why are you walking like that?"

"Like what?"

"You're kind of limping around like a filly trying to learn how to walk," Flash Sentry remarked.

"Um, numb legs."

Mister Sentry smiled at Twilight in sympathy. "It's a pain, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Twilight agreed before she fell silent. She focused on watching the guard's gait and subtly trying to mimic it as they walked. By the time they had both reached the exit, she could almost do it perfectly.

"Here we are," Mister Sentry said, "try not to go anywhere you're not supposed to again."

"I won't," Twilight promised.

Mister Sentry nodded and went back inside the building, which was an enormous white castle that towered over her like a skyscraper.

Twilight turned away from the castle and looked around at the sprawling foreign city that surrounded her.

It occurred to Twilight that she had no clue what to do next.

Chapter Three

Twilight walked around the city aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do. She wasn't going to get an opportunity to look at the mirror again without risking being caught by the guards, and she wasn't eager to chance being dragged off into a dungeon or worse.

Her sense of panic rose as no immediate solution came.

No, Twilight scolded herself, there has to be some other way out of here. I just need information.

Information... that was it! She needed information, and the one place where that was handed out in abundance was a library. Judging by the nineteenth century architecture around her, she doubted she was going to have access to a computer to Google 'ways to get out of here,' but she could still crack open a book and start reading.

She found a random stallion and asked for directions. After asking if she was a tourist, the stallion pointed her in the right direction: five blocks south, and then turn left and walk another five blocks.

It took Twilight a moment to realize that the stallion had a horn like hers, and it was glowing the same colour as a shopping bag that levitated right next to him.

"Um, why is that shopping bag glowing?" Twilight asked.

"What do you mean? It's just magic," the stallion answered like she'd asked him if the sky was blue.

"Never mind," Twilight squeaked, "thanks for the directions."

"No problem," the stallion said with genuine warmness.

Twilight walked hurriedly away.

Magic. There it was, hovering quite literally in front of her face. She wasn't sure whether to scream or to cry.

Never mind that, Twilight steeled herself, you have a goal: get to the library, read your brains out, and get the heck out of here!

Twilight Sparkle was pretty sure she had taken a wrong turn somewhere. She had walked five blocks south, and then turned right and walked another five blocks. The promised library was nowhere in sight.

Twilight sighed as she realized her mistake. She was so proccupied with her thoughts she forgot she was supposed to have turned left.

Twilight pouted and turned around.

"Twilight?" a voice called out.

Twilight lifted her head upwards to find another pony. Instead of a horn, however, she possessed a pair of butter yellow feathery wings and a furry coat, with a light pink mane to match. She had a trio of fluttering pink butterflies on her flank.

But when Twilight looked into her eyes, she started to get major déjà vu that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Or hoof, in her case.

"Hi," Twilight said, "um, how do you know my name?"

"Twilight? It's me, Fluttershy," Fluttershy said and then gasped. "Where are your wings? What happened?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about. I've never had wings in my life, and I think I would remember you if I really knew you. You must be confusing me with someone else."

Fluttershy looked throughly offended and hurt.

"Look, Fluttershy, I'm not pulling your leg here. I really don't know you."

"Twilight!" another voice called. The source came from another winged pony, this time with three non-winged friends in tow.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy called out to the other ponies in alarm, "something terrible has happened! She doesn't remember who we are, and she doesn't have her wings!"

"I don't know who you guys are, but you really do have me confused with someo- somepony else. No crazy, terrible things happening here," Twilight said.

An orange mare, who had no wings and no horn, examined Twilight closely. "She ain't the Twilight we know. She doesn't have that little pink streak in her mane, and besides, the Twilight we know is in the castle with Princess Cadence. Still, she looks pretty close to her, doesn't she? If you don't notice the wings at first, she looks just like her."

"Maybe she's her evil twin," a pink mare with a poofy mane said thoughtfully.

"I very much doubt that," a white mare with a horn coughed.

A cyan mare with wings and a mane that reminded Twilight of the rainbow tunnel raised her eyebrow. (As much as she could being completely furry.) "You know, this kind of reminds me of what Twilight was talking about. The whole thing about having a copy of yourself over on the other side."

Twilight blinked. "So... about this whole 'other world' thing. Would it involve a marble statue? Maybe a mirror? A rainbow vortex? Humans?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so," the orange mare said, "wait a minute, how do you know anything? No offense, but that stuff ain't exactly common knowledge."

Twilight couldn't think of a convincing lie, so she told the truth. "Well, I'm... a human. Or I was, until I got turned into this," Twilight said as she indicated her newly changed body.

"So you're a human," Fluttershy said in amazement, "what do you eat? How do you walk? I heard humans don't have a tail. How do you keep your balance on two legs?"

Twilight merely blinked again. "Um, we just learn to walk without a tail?"

"So if you look like Twilight, and you turned around when we said your name, then you must be the other Twilight that Twilight couldn't find!" the pink mare exclaimed in light of her new discovery.

"Pinkie Pie, what in Equestria do you mean?" the white mare asked.

"She's Twilight's copy from another world!"

The rest of the group suddenly had a much more keen interest in Twilight.

"My, I never expected to find this, out of all things just walking around the Crystal Empire," the white mare said, "what brings you here to our world, darling?"

"To be honest, I kind of fell into a statue and I've been trying to find a way to get home ever since," Twilight said.

"You fell into a statue?" the cyan mare asked, "what kind of egghead does that?"

Twilight decided to ignore the comment. "Look, I'm happy you've found your sort-of-a-friend-from-another-world, but I kind of need to get back home before my parents figure out I'm missing and call the police."

The mares all exchanged silent looks of agreement.

"Well, we can help ya with that. We'll get you to Twilight, maybe she'll have an idea how to get ya home," the orange mare said.

Twilight grit her teeth. Talking to her super-famous other self was the last thing she wanted to do, but going to the library and reading was a lame plan compared to a quick ticket home. "All right," she decided, "take me to Twilight."

"I don't mean to be a bother," Fluttershy said as they started to walk back in the direction the previously homo sapien Twilight had come from, "but I'd like to know about humans. Do you mind telling us about them?"

"What is there to say?" Twilight asked, "we have two legs and no tail. Not much else to talk about."

"But what do you eat? Are you herbivorous or are you omnivores?"

"Omnivores. Although we don't eat hay, if you're wondering."

"So does the Pinkie Pie in your world throw lots and lots of parties?" the pink mare asked, whom Twilight assumed was Pinkie Pie.

"Uh, well, I guess so," Twilight said, "not that I've ever been invited to one, but yeah."

"Why not?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Well, it just never seemed like my idea of fun."

"Well, I think somepony needs to go to more parties," Pinkie Pie declared, "I mean, how could you not have fun at a party?"

If I answer, it'll only encourage her, Twilight realized.

"So tell me, what kinds of clothes do humans usually wear?" the white mare asked, saving Twilight from the overly hyper wrath of Pinkie Pie.

Twilight blinked. They were all completely naked, including Twilight herself. Not even her backpack or purse survived the trip through the statue. "You wear clothes?"

"Of course! Do humans not wear clothes?"

"No, we definitely do," Twilight said.

The questions continued as they walked at an infuriatingly slow pace.

Twilight gradually learned their names as the conversation continued. The white mare was named Rarity, the cyan one was Rainbow Dash, and the orange one was named Applejack.

And in the back of her mind, those names and faces all seemed familiar to her.

Eventually, they finally reached the castle. Several guards stood straighter as they passed, including the grey guard that had thought she was clueless. Twilight wondered if that was becasue they recognized Twilight's friends, or thought that it was Twilight herself.

She got her answer when the guard from earlier, Flash Sentry, had mistakenly greeted her as Princess Twilight.

Twilight sighed and stepped out of the middle of the group of mares to show that she had no wings. Flash Sentry stood there dumbfounded and gave a hasty apology before running off.

"Wait, Princess Twilight?" Twilight whispered to the other mares once she had rejoined them.

"Uh, did we not mention that part to you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No. You didn't."

"Whoops," Pinkie Pie said, "well, now you know!"

"Thanks for telling me," Twilight said.

"Ah' guess it was a little rude of us to be askin' all the questions," Applejack admitted.

Rarity turned towards the group as a pony dressed as a servant ran off. "I've arranged for a messenger to tell us we're looking for Twilight."

"What? We know she's with Princess Cadence! Can't we just go in?" Rainbow Dash protested.

"We have to have some standards, dear. We can't just walk in on a royal conversation between Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight," Rarity said.

"I wouldn't want to just barge in on them," Fluttershy added.

"Well," Twilight prompted, "this would be great time to explain to me about the other world and all the other important things you've forgot to tell me."

Princess Twilight sipped her tea as she kept an amiable silence with her old foalsitter and current ruler of the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadence.

"You know, I think you did very well for your first summit," Princess Cadence said, breaking the silence.

"Thanks," Princess Twilight said in a mixture of thankfulness and surprise.

"You were worried about it," Princess Cadence said as a statement rather than a guess, "I could tell just by looking at you whenever you spoke."

Princess Twilight winced. "Was it that obvious?"

Princess Cadence chuckled. "Yes, but I think the fact that you made your arguments and thoughts known in spite of your fear only increased Celestia's and Luna's opinion of you."

Princess Twilight smiled. "Thanks. But I was Celestia's student. I don't think she'd ever think badly of me."

"True," Princess Cadence admitted, "and speaking of which, if I know Celestia, she's going to be expecting you to take on a student of your own soon."

"Me?" Princess Twilight yelped, "but... I'd be a horrible teacher!"

"You underestimate yourself, Twilight," Princess Cadence said, "if you weren't there at my wedding, Equestria would be overrun with changelings. And that's not mentioning how you managed to go through a portal, retrieve your crown from a foreign land, and come back in three days only to be thrown headfirst into politics. You can do anything you set your mind to, Twilight. Never forget that."

"Thank you," Princess Twilight said, although her lips pursed slightly. The memory of being the only one in the room who seemed to not harbour a blind hatred for changelings when reports of various rumours of changeling sightings swam back unbidden to her.

In the end, Princess Twilight had made a compromise with the other princesses: wait until concrete proof of the changeling's return to act.

Still, Princess Twilight couldn't help but wonder if Princess Cadence was trying her best not to express her disagreement over the issue, in spite of mutual agreements to do otherwise.

A knock at the door sounded.

"Come in," Princess Cadence said.

A messenger trotted into the room nervously. "Erm, the ponies Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy say they have something urgent to show you. They've asked permission to come here."

Princess Twilight sighed. They were her best friends. She had told them to just knock on the door and walk in, but if she had to guess Rarity and Fluttershy had convinced the group to act otherwise. "Permission granted."

The messenger bowed and hurried out the door.

"Wonder what they found," Princess Cadence wondered.

"Probably something interesting," Princess Twilight said.

A few minutes later, her friends walked through the door with a visitor in tow. With a start, she realized the visitor looked almost exactly like her, minus an inch of height, a pink streak in her mane, and wings.

The visitor looked at Princess Twilight with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance, as if she was a celebrity that had been talked about to death but was still worth visiting.

"Hi," the visitor said flatly, "my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm your clone from an alternate universe. I heard you could point me in the right direction."

"That's an... interesting claim to make," Princess Cadence said.

"Well, it sure isn't something you hear every day," Princess Twilight joked.

"Nope!" Pinkie Pie agreed, "it sure isn't!"

"It sounds nutty," Rainbow Dash added, "but I think she's telling the truth. We found her wandering around lost in the Crystal Empire. We had to explain a lot of stuff to her. She said she got here by accident, so we thought you'd be able to help us get her back in the portal to the other world."

Princess Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Other world? Portal via a marble horse statue that rears up at you?"

"Yes," Twilight confirmed.

Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence exchanged glances and knew they were thinking the exact same thing.

"So," the lavender princess said, "mind explaining to me how you got here by accident?"

The Twilight from the other world obliged. She explained being gone from Canterlot High when Princess Twilight had visited, and coming back to find Canterlot High rather changed. She went on to say there had been a rumour about putting one's hand on the portal and focusing, which she had done after a week of mulling it over. In her attempt, she had had a reaction which caused her to put her hand through solid marble and had then fallen through to the other world.

It was a rather detailed story, Princess Twilight had to admit.

"Well, it's believable," Princess Cadence remarked.

"But there's a few things wrong with your story," Princess Twilight said.

Twilight looked at her other self with indignance. "Like what?"

"First off, there was no way you could have used the portal in the first place," Princess Twilight said, "there's a small time window that it's open, and the next one is about twenty-nine and a half moons away.

"Second, humans don't use magic.

"Third, even if humans did, your 'reaction' is highly improbable to happen. The closest proven case that has been scientifically documented is a unicorn's power surges, that begins when the unicorn is just a filly and dissipates fully by the time a unicorn reaches adolescence.

"In other words," Princess Twilight summarized, "it's not scientifically possible that your story is real."

"You live in a world shoved to the brim with magic spells, and you think I'm lying because it's not scientifically possible?" Twilight demanded.

"Magic is derived by science," Princess Twilight said as if she was talking to a child.

"But... but... argh! Fine! Try to scientifically explain why I'm here, and why I look almost exactly like you with the same name as you!" Twilight snapped.

"She has a point," Princess Cadence said, "I can tell just by looking at her face that she's either not lying, or insane. And madponies usually don't have such well put together stories. But, there is a third option..."

Princess Twilight knew what her equal was talking about. A lavender light washed over the room, averting everypony's eyes except for Twilight's, who was caught unawares.

When the glow subsided, the visitor blinked several times. "Ow. That was really bright. Could you warn me next time before you shove a purple flashlight in my face? I'm still seeing spots."

"Well, she's not a changeling," Princess Twilight remarked, "so I guess the only real logical option that's left is the first one."

"I'm not a change-whatever you called it. Now can you tell me why you thought it necessary to burn my eyes out of my sockets?"

"Wimp," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"It's a changeling reveal spell," Princess Twilight explained.

"As you can see, princesses, I don't really look that revealed, aside from the part where I'm still wearing no clothes," Twilight said dryly, "now, can we skip to the part where you use your phenomenal cosmic power to get me home?"

"We don't have phenomenal cosmic power," Cadence said, clearly amused by the sarcastic jest, "but we do have a portal."

"But I thought the portal was closed," Fluttershy reminded everypony in the room.

"Only one way to find out," Princess Twilight said.

Chapter Four

"Here we are," Princess Cadence announced, "this is the portal."

The portal turned out to be the mirror Twilight found herself next to when she had woken up originally. It was almost funny how she had unwittingly walked away from her exit, only to be brought back to it. Still, there was something off about the portal.

"Do you mind telling me why you have all this secrecy around the mirror?" Twilight asked.

"We thought it would be better off," Princess Twilight admitted, "I'm one of the few who ever went through the portal, and even I don't know that much about it. The princesses all agreed a long time ago it was better we kept the portal a secret and avoid messing with your world too much."

Apparently, that rule went out the window last week, Twilight was tempted to say.

"You gonna stand there, or you gonna go in?" Rainbow Dash asked.

That broke Twilight's slight stupor. She walked towards the portal, reached out her hoof, and put it through the glass until it stopped an inch in, like there was a solid brick wall just beneath the surface of the glass.

Twilight pushed with her full weight, casually at first, but increasingly more panicked until she backed up and ran into the portal, smacking headfirst against the solid wall of the portal.

A stunned silence ensued. The portal no longer worked.

"Why won't it work?" Twilight said through gritted teeth as she rubbed her nose.

"Whatever caused the portal to open, it's gone now," Princess Twilight said, "you're stuck here until it opens again in three years. I'm sorry."

"That's it?" Twilight growled, "'I'm sorry?'"

"There's nothing more I can do," Princess Twilight said defensively.

"You went into the stupid portal, messed up everything over there, made me fall into the portal and ruined my life, and all I get is a little pat on the head and an apology?"

"I didn't make you do anything," Princess Twilight said as her jaw set, "it was an accident. You said it yourself. What do I have to do with this?"

"Everything. Everyone was so amazed with you, with the pampered pony princess who can magically make friends with anyone and everything, and then you leave just in time for me to have to deal with everyone wishing I was someone else! I had to take a look at the portal because you made my life so utterly insane I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't!"

"Hey, girls! I'm ba... wait, why is there two Twilights?" someone asked from the doorway before Princess Twilight could answer.

The former human turned to find a purple and green scaly... thing. Twilight jumped back and yelped. "What the heck is that?"

Princess Twilight teleported inches away from Twilight's face in a massive shower of lavender sparks, grabbing Twilight's attention instantly.

"That is Spike, my number one assistant and my best friend," the princess said in a dangerously calm tone.

"And he's a snake," Twilight said.

"A baby dragon, actually. But I suppose somepony as ignorant like you wouldn't care."

Twilight snorted. "You're right, I don't care."

"Leave," Princess Cadence said, her voice like cold steel.

Twilight looked at Princess Cadence like she had been speaking in a foreign language. "What?"

"Go. Or the guards will escort you out of the castle premises the hard way."

"Fine," Twilight said as she skulked out of the room, ensuring she kept a wide berth around Spike, "thanks for everything."

"Wow. What's her problem?" Spike asked.

Twilight kept walking until she could barely see the Crystal Empire's castle on the horizon, fuming all the while.

She was a million miles away from home with no way back, she the one who had to endure all the misery that her counterpart had created for her, and they seemed to think she was the cause of her problems instead of the victim!

And that scaly... thing... looked like a fat snake with feet.

Twilight hated snakes.

Twilight finally calmed down enough to observe where she was. She looked around to realize she was in the middle of a large park with plenty of benches and cheery flowers that did not match Twilight's mood.

The park was well populated in spite of the Sun starting to dip down on the horizon. Nopony else gave her even a passing glance. Apparently none of them seemed to realize she looked like the Princess, being citizens of a place with no functioning cameras.

Good. She couldn't stand for being confused with "Princess Twilight" ever again.

She watched as a blue unicorn in a pointy wizard's hat magically unsaddled herself from a harness that was attached to a wagon. The unicorn fiddled with various latches and things on the wagon, and it magically unfolded into a stage. She hopped onstage and began trying to draw a crowd.

"Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic being performed by the Great and Powerful Trixie!" the magician called out to curious passers-by.

Several ponies stopped to see what the commotion was, and a few actually walked to the front of the stage to watch.

Trixie seemed delighted at the attention. "Ah hah! I see ponies in the Crystal Empire know magical talent when they see it! Now, feast your eyes on this!"

Fireworks popped out of the stage and exploded a few feet directly above the stage without ever being lit on fire, creating a rather pretty display.

More ponies stopped to watch as she performed a few more tricks. The displays were simultaneously beautiful and breath-taking. Twilight watched the spectacle, entranced.

Until one pony in the crowd started yelling at Trixie.

"I've heard about you! You're a fake! Show us some real magic!" the pony called out.

Several others joined in and started booing Trixie.

Twilight wondered if what she had seen was magic or not. Sure, she'd seen things glowing like the other magic she'd seen, but were the fireworks magic or just regular fireworks? Twilight groaned as she shook her head and realized she had no clue.

She was raised her whole life to know that magic only existed in fairy tales, or as a term for unexplained scientific phenomena. Then she was told that magic existed.

Now, she was told that there was fake magic that looked no different from all the "real" magic she'd seen over the past hour or so.

It was enough to make her head feel like it was going to explode.

Twilight jumped as a thunderclap sounded from where Trixie was.

"I'm sorry," Trixie said, "but I couldn't hear all you neighsayers over the sound of The Great And Powerful Trixie effortlessly bending thunderclouds to her will."

The silence that ensued was deafening compared to the noise that had come before it.

"There," Trixie said in satisfaction, "now, for my next trick, I'd like to pick a volunteer." Trixie scanned the crowd until she saw Twilight on the park bench, and her eyes lit up in a dangerous flash of recognition.

Twilight decided to leave before Trixie made her the next stage performance.

"So, you're just going to leave her there?" Spike demanded in Princess Twilight's bedroom.

"She's a jerk. You saw how she reacted to you, and right before that she blamed everything on me!" Princess Twilight snapped.

"Woah. Calm down," Spike said, "I know she might have been a jerk to you, but don't you think you should... you know, try to figure out what made the portal open and help her anyways?"

"There's no way to open the portal. However she did it, it probably will never happen again."

"Then maybe help her adjust a little? I mean, the first two days in their world weren't fun for us, either. Imagine what it's like for her."

"At least we weren't like... like her! At least we weren't mean to everypony we met for no good reason!"

"Twilight, you can't just leave her," Spike said, his face deadly serious.

"Why not?"

"Because you're not just Twilight anymore. You're Princess Twilight Sparkle, who's mastered the magic of friendship, and that's including kindness. Remember when you nearly brainwashed the entirety of Ponyville?"

"I wasn't thinking straight!"

"That's not the point," Spike said, "remember how Princess Celestia forgave you in the end?"

"I do. What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying you have to be like Princess Celestia now and forgive Twilight. It's your duty now. If the princesses of Equestria won't forgive other ponies, then who will?"

Princess Twilight's face softened. "You're right, Spike. The least I can do is help her get someplace to live. But where would she go?"

"Oh, that's easy," Spike smirked, "what's quiet and filled with books?"

Princess Twilight blinked. "Oh, right. I guess that's where I would go if I were me, wouldn't I?"

Spike snorted, trying to hold back a laugh.

Twilight reached the library. It was a massive building, with two huge crystalline statues of creatures guarded the entrance. She realized that they were giffons, like the ones from Harry Potter.

On the top, right over the door, was a picture of an open book and "CRYSTAL EMPIRE PUBLIC LIBRARY" written on it. Definitely a sign she was in the right place.

As she walked in, she realized the amount of books for the public were seemingly infinite, which contrasted sharply with the very few ponies that were there.

Even in a civilization without computers and video games, no one bothered to read a book once and a while.

Twilight aimlessly walked through the massive shelves of books, looking at the titles. She was looking for an atlas to determine her geographic location when she found herself in the magic section. Endless amounts of magical tomes surrounded her.

A question ignited in her mind. What was real magic? Was it just an expression? Did Trixie use magic, or magic in the sense of how a regular magician pulls a bunny out of his hat? When was magic magic and when did it stop being magic?

Twilight had the feeling she would go nuts if she didn't find out, if she was not already nuts.

Only one way to find out, Twilight thought to herself as she pulled out a random book and opened it to the first page.

The instructions may have well been written in gibberish. There were countless bits of terminology that Twilight had never heard of and symbols that she had never seen. It was in English, but it may have been been in Latin for all Twilight could understand.

Instead of deterring Twilight, it only made her more determined. If she was going to spend her next three years as a magic talking unicorn, then she was going to learn how magic worked.

Twilight rose up on two legs and tried to put the book back in it's place, but she nearly lost her balance and nearly crashed into the bookcase.

She spent a small amount of time mulling over her options until she saw a winged pony, or pegasus, as Rainbow Dash had said they were called, fly up and take a book out of a nearby shelf with her mouth.

Twilight had thought of the option initially, but she'd discarded it as thinking it disgusting and possibly taboo.

Apparently, ponies weren't worried about bacteria and germs from their mouths getting on their books.

Twilight carefully put the book in between her teeth and found it was surprisingly simple to turn her head and gently put the book back in place.

She tried multiple books on her own and then made two trips to the librarian before she found a book that was meant for "young colts and fillies interested in learning the basics of magic," according to the back of the book.

Twilight took the book over to a nearby table and pored over the page long introduction, not including an additional two pages for an explanation of the first spell. When she thought she had memorized the instructions, she tried the spell. If it worked, the book would supposedly turn its pages on its own.

The first time, she simply stared at the book and focused hard, to no avail.

She reread the instructions. The book advocated closing her eyes in order to increase concentration when trying new spells.

Twilight tried several more times with her eyes now shut, slowly getting a headache every time she concentrated harder.

"Ow," Twilight moaned. Was magic supposed to hurt your brain?

Twilight flipped through the book to find nothing on that subject. She shrugged and kept trying to practice, every time her headache getting slightly worse and worse.

Twilight knew in the back of her mind that the rational thing to do was stop.

Twilight, however, was not feeling rational.

Time passed before she opened her eyes to find the shadow of a certain alicorn.

"Hi," Princess Twilight said.

"Hi."

"If you'll accept my help, I've made arrangements for you."

"What kind of arrangements?" Twilight said, trying not to moan in pain.

"There's an empty house next to a restaurant that needs hired help," Princess Twilight said, "Princess Cadence and I can let you buy the house on a non-interest loan. An official representing Princess Cadence will also recommend you to the restaurant owner. You'll have to pay rent, but it'll be lower than normal."

"Thank you," Twilight said.

"You're welcome," Princess Twilight answered.

"And... I'm sorry. I was so focused on getting home that when I realized that I wasn't... I freaked out. And I'm really, really sorry."

"Apology accepted," Princess Twilight said. She looked around, as if just now noticing where she was. "And just out of curiosity, what are you reading?"

"The only book I could understand," Twilight grumbled.

"Are you illiterate?"

"May as well be," Twilight sighed, "I can't make any sense of the library's books about magic. What exactly does 'put the energy in your extended parietal lobe in a state of flux' even mean?"

"It's complicated. The really basic version is that you channel your mental energy from your brain into your horn."

Twilight groaned and rubbed her head.

"It's the extremely simplified version of an advanced concept," Princess Twilight said, "don't worry about it.

"And are you alright? I mean, aside from the obvious, you don't look so good."

"I've been trying to turn a page of this book with magic for... I don't even know how long. All it's given me is this stupid headache," Twilight complained.

"Here, this should help," Princess Twilight said as she stepped in and touched her horn to Twilight's.

Nothing happened.

"It takes a few seconds to kick in," Princess Twilight explained in response to Twilight's puzzled facial expression.

Twilight's head slowly went numb like she'd gotten a Novocain injection in her brain.

"Thanks," Twilight said in relief.

"You're welcome. So, why are you trying to study magic?"

Twilight stiffened. "Is that illegal here?"

"No. It's just that I've been to your world, and there wasn't any magic. I thought you'd be too alienated to try it," Princess Twilight explained.

"I saw this magician a little while ago. I thought it was kind of weird having magicians in this world, since magic seems to be a normal thing here. But one of the ponies started saying that she wasn't using real magic, or something like that. I concluded that the best way to figure out what real magic was was to do it.

"And I'm a magic unicorn. I may as well learn magic while I'm here."

Princess Twilight glanced at the open book. "But no success so far."

"No," Twilight agreed, "and it's driving me crazy not being able to do it."

"I could help you," Princess Twilight offered.

"Really?"

"If you really want to learn, then I have a bit of time to teach you," Princess Twilight said with as the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Okay," Twilight said, "I mean, I'd love to!"

"Alright. First, close your eyes," Princess Twilight instructed.

The other Twilight obliged.

"Okay. Focus only on the book."

"Alright. Focused on the book."

"Now, relax," Princess Twilight instructed.

"Relax?"

"You're completely tense. You need to loosen up to concentrate properly."

Princess Twilight was right. Twilight was tense. Failing a supposedly simple spell for twenty minutes did little for one's sense of humour.

She remembered her old babysitter, Cadenza. She would always tell Twilight to take a deep breath and think.

So she took a deep breath through the nose, and exhaled through the mouth, just like Cadenza always told her.

"Better," Princess Twilight remarked, "alright. Are you ready?"

Twilight nodded a silent yes.

"Good. Now, imagine the book turning it's pages. Don't try to think about the words on it, but concentrate on the general motion."

Sparks shot out of Twilight's horn and then fizzled as she focused intently.

Twilight opened her eyes, clearly unhappy. "Nothing happened."

Princess Twilight indicated the book, and Twilight's face lit up. "It turned! I'm three pages ahead and I never even touched it!"

A nearby pony hidden behind a bookcase shushed them.

"Sorry," Twilight said sheepishly. "So, did I do well?"

"That was amazing," Princess Twilight said, "it took me a month as a filly to be able to turn one page."

"Well, it made sense when you explained it to me," Twilight said.

"Glad to see I could help," Princess Twilight said, "although your Cutie Mark probably had something to do with it."

"Cutie what?"

"Cutie Mark. Everypony gets an image on their flank when they find what their naturally talented at. Yours and mine are the same."

Twilight checked her flank and her look-alike to find that they did have the same Cutie Mark.

"Okay. So... my natural talent is doing magic?"

Princess Twilight nodded. "When I got mine, I had a power surge that turned everypony in the room into a potted plant by accident. If yours is the same, then you've probably got the same amount of..."

"What?"

"I think I figured out what opened the portal. You said that you couldn't control your body, you were glowing purple, and there was some electricity, right?"

"Yeah. But what does that have to do with anything?" Twilight asked.

"That's a power surge. If mine as a filly could turn a room into potted plants and even more, then imagine what you could've been able to do with my uncontrolled potential at your age."

Realization dawned on Twilight. "Like open an shut portal."

"Exactly."

"Okay, so is there any way to make it happen again?"

"I'm not sure. Even if it was, the power surge might just do something different."

"What do you mean? If I'm near the portal, then it should just fill it up with magic and open it, right?"

"A power surge creates raw magic. If you think of magic like a foreign language, then raw magic is just pure gibberish. The fact that it opened a portal was just random chance. The gibberish might mean something completely different to the portal next time."

Twilight sighed in exasperation. "So much for getting my hopes up. I mean, I could even sink my hoof in one inch into the glass. The portal was practically taunting me."

"Wait, what did you say?" Princess Twilight said, leaning towards Twilight intently.

"The portal was taunting me."

"Before that."

"I said I could sink my hoof in one inch into the glass."

"Cadence and I checked the portal after you left. We couldn't go past the glass... which means... that you might not have just opened the portal, but I think you managed to change the way it operates for you."

"Is that even possible?"

"Yes, with very strong and very precise magic" Princess Twilight confirmed, "I think, just as a theory, that if you, and only you, gave the portal a strong enough spell, you might be able to activate it early like you did."

"Really?"

"Well, it's just a huge guess. It might not work, but if it did, you might not have to wait it out here in Equestria. You'd be able to go home way ahead of the portal's schedule."

"So, how long would it take for me to learn to figure out how to do that?"

"Three months, and that's being really optimistic," Princess Twilight admitted.

"Well, three months better than three years. But who's going to teach me?"

Princess Twilight looked her counterpart in the eyes. "I am."

Twilight's jaw nearly fell open. She'd been a massive pain in the princess's flank, and here she was helping her cure her self-inflicted headache, teach her how to use basic magic, and now personally train her. "You're really nice," Twilight said, which was the understatement of the century.

"And you're not as bad as I thought you were," the princess admitted, "so, can I take that as a yes?"

"Yes."

Princess Twilight held out her hoof, and her new student shook it.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she found the two Twilight's, "what are you doing with my friend?"

"Talk about jumping to conclusions," Twilight muttered under her breath.

Princess Twilight shot her counterpart a look as she said, "I was just talking to her. It's fine, Rainbow Dash."

"Uh-hunh," Rainbow Dash said suspiciously, "so did get the arrangements or whatever done yet?"

"There's been a change of plans," Princess Twilight said, "we'll explain at dinner together."

Chapter Five

The trio made their way back to the castle. There were many glances given to Princess Twilight, who accept it nonchalantly, while Rainbow Dash basked in the attention as if it was directed at her.

As they passed the park, they found Trixie packing up her things with a beat-up hat filled with golden coins. She nearly dropped it at the sight of the two Twilight's.

"Trixie!" Princess Twilight called out, "I didn't know you were here!"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie comes and goes as she wills."

Rainbow Dash stared daggers at Trixie like she was trying to decide if she wanted to strangle the street performer. Twilight decided to go ahead and like the magician.

"I liked the performance you put on," Twilight offered, "kind of wish I could've stayed a little longer."

"It was a shame," Trixie said, "the Great and Powerful Trixie would've liked to have you onstage. But tell Trixie, who are you? You look like Princess Twilight."

"Long story, but I'm Twilight Sparkle. Not the princess, just a friend."

"They're waiting for us back at the castle, you know," Rainbow Dash reminded Princess Twilight.

The princess gave a sigh of annoyance. "Well, I have to go. Just wanted to say hello."

Trixie nodded and bid them a farewell.

"Why does Rainbow Dash not like her?" Twilight asked the princess once both mares were out of earshot, Trixie far behind and Rainbow Dash an impatient distance ahead.

"The short version is that she showed up doing one of her magic acts, which caused an Ursa Minor to rampage through the town accidentally-"

"As in the Little Dipper? A constellation?"

"Not a constellation. A really massive bear. Anyways, she left and came back with a magic amulet and tried to banish me from Ponyville before I came back and defeated her. Anyways, she-"

"And you like her?"

"She apologized," Princess Twilight said, as if that explained everything.

"She made a giant bear terrorize a town and then came back to banish you from it."

"The Ursa Minor was an accident that was caused by her giving an idea to two young foals who didn't know what they were doing. The second time she was under the influence of the amulet. She was literally insane."

"An amulet that she put on," Twilight pointed out.

Princess Twilight decided to try a different tack. "You saw her do her show yourself. Did she seem nice, not arrogant and boastful? For a stage magician, at the very least?"

"Well, I guess," Twilight admitted.

"There you go," Princess Twilight said, "she apologized, saw the error of her ways, and she's making the best she can of her second chance. She's changed for the better."

"I don't care if somepony can change," Twilight said, "if they made a giant bear rampage through my town I wouldn't ever forgive them for it."

"Hey! Can we pick up the pace here? I'm getting hungry!" Rainbow Dash called out from a short distance ahead of them before the princess could argue further.

Princess Cadence and the other ponies gathered at the dinner table were stunned to find Princess Twilight with her look-alike in tow.

Twilight shifted around uncomfortably under their piercing stares. She looked to her newfound mentor for help, but the princess seemed utterly oblivious.

"We're back," Princess Twilight said cheerfully.

Cadence's face was one of confusion, unlike the rest in the dining hall, but it quickly morphed into a welcoming smile. "Hello, Twilight and Twilight. Did anything go wrong with the arrangements? I thought they would be good for living a quiet life here for until the next opening of the portal, but if there is anything wrong..."

"There's been a change of plans," Princess Twilight announced to the room, "I think I may have figured out a way to reopen the portal ahead of when it's supposed to."

"So... how do you plan on doing that, exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'll explain once we eat," Princess Twilight assured.

Rainbow Dash and the princess each took a seat at the long table. Twilight hesitated for a moment, and then took a chair situated away from Spike, who was staring at the gemstones on his fine china plate like they were slices of chocolate cake.

"Now can we eat?" Spike asked.

"Yes, Spike, everypony's here. You can eat now," Applejack answered.

Without another word, Spike snatched the solid gems off his plate and noisily ate them, making crunching sounds as if the gemstones were merely breakfast cereal.

Princess Twilight recounted the events of the library while Twilight helped herself to berries, salad and even pastries. Apparently even ponies had a sweet tooth.

There was also a large amount of hay that were apparently served in different styles, although Twilight could hardly tell the difference. She avoided the hay, not wanting to eat something so unfamiliar to her. Logic dictated that her digestive system had been changed to that of her horselike companions, but fear of the unknown won out and the hay never touched her plate.

Princess Twilight had just finished explaining her counterpart's immediate knack for magic. The way she had described it, one would have thought that Twilight had levitated the entire book and zipped it around the room.

"I wasn't that good," Twilight protested, breaking her silence she had kept all dinner, "I just made a book move a few pages ahead. It's not exactly a powerful feat of magic as far as I know."

"It's an excellent start," Princess Twilight said encouragingly.

Princess Twilight resumed her story. By the time she had finished explaining her intentions to be Twilight's teacher, the entire room was silent aside from the clinks of silverware and plates being quietly taken away by servants.

"So, um, does this mean Twilight is coming to Ponyville with us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, it does," Princess Twilight confirmed.

Surreptitious glances were thrown Twilight's way.

"That's lovely," Rarity said in a way that suggested that it was anything but lovely.

Twilight said nothing in her defense.

"Hey, maybe we should go to the castle greenhouse," Princess Twilight suggested suddenly.

"I have a little bit of work to do," Cadence said in apology, "between Shining Armor being sick and the Princess Summit, I've starting to fall behind in my paperwork."

"All right," Princess Twilight said, "I understand. Girls, are you all up for it?"

"I think I'll take a look around the castle," Twilight said, "I just want to look around a little."

"All right. The castle has it's own library just a few floors above us if you're interested."

Twilight perked up at the information and quickly left, heading for the nearest staircase.

"I've got some things to take care of," Spike announced, "I'll catch you girls later."

"Well, I guess it's just us then," the princess said.

Even at night, the greenroom was beautiful. With a glass ceiling that gave a crystal clear view of the sky, flowers of countless varieties in bloom and the noticeable lack of armed guards that might listen in on a private conversation or just generally be an eyesore, it was a wonderful place to have a personal or touchy conversation. The entire greenroom was filled with an earthy scent of dirt and the aroma of flowers that instantly relaxed the muscles of the princess and her friends the moment they stepped inside.

"No matter how many times I visit here, it's just so beautiful," Fluttershy marveled.

"These flowers certainly are quite pretty, aren't they?" Rarity agreed.

"Shame they don't plant any fruits or nothing," observed Applejack, "they could make a fortune selling crystal berries if the prince and princess tried."

"Eh, it's kinda nice," commented Rainbow Dash, "but once you've seen one flower, you've kinda seen 'em all."

Pinkie Pie sniffed a flower. "Best thing is, there aren't any bees! I got stung once when I went to go smell a flower and it really hurt."

"Girls, can I ask you something?" Princess Twilight ventured.

"Of course, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie replied.

"Alright," Princess Twilight said uneasily, "but I noticed you girls were a little quieter around Twilight then you usually are around other ponies. Is everything alright?"

"Not really," Applejack sighed, "it's just... an hour ago she was makin' fun of you, your crown, and even Spike. You looked really upset."

"Well, yes, I was," Princess Twilight admitted, "but she was just frustrated. No reason to hold a grudge on her."

"Well, even before that, when we were asking her questions about where she came from, she seemed a little... um..." Fluttershy trailed off.

"A little what?" the princess asked.

"A little bit snippety," Rarity finished.

"She doesn't even like parties!" Pinkie Pie added.

Princess Twilight sighed. "Pinkie, not everypony likes parties-"

"They don't?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"-and she's not that bad once you get to know her. What are you girls all afraid of?"

"We're afraid that this new Twilight might be a bad friend," Rarity admitted, "we don't want you to be hurt because of her."

"Girls, don't worry," Princess Twilight assured her friends, "I thought about what I was doing before I made the offer to take her back to Ponyville with us. I know she has the makings of a good friend. We just need to give her a little kindness and bit of breathing room."

Applejack tilted her the brim of her hat upwards. "If ya say so, Twilight."

"I do say so," the princess said with absolute confidence.

Chapter Six

Before Cadence had left to complete her royal paperwork, the busy princess had casually let slip that the castle had it's own personal library, and that Twilight was more than welcome to use it if she so wished.

The personal library was small compared to the endless books of the Crystal Empire's public library, but there were still many volumes lining the bookshelves. In the back of the room, a door lead to an outside balcony, where a stallion sat hunched over a book.

He read by candlelight, the flames flickering and illuminating him. He only took his eyes off of the book long enough to turn to cough deeply into the crook of his foreleg before going back to reading. Twilight approached him slowly, as if drawn to him by an invisible force.

"No, I don't need anything, thank you," a stallion immediately told her gently, as if he was trying to reject an invitation to a social event without hurting the host's feelings.

Twilight jumped with a start as she recognized the voice. But it couldn't be possible. "Shining Armor?"

He put down the book he was reading and his eyes went wide as he turned to see who he was speaking to.

"I'm not Princess Twilight, if that's what you're thinking," Twilight said with more patience than she could usually muster for the unspoken question.

"You must be Twilight's twin from the other world."

"Twin?"

"Or copy," Shining Armor added, "however you want to be called."

"Twin's fine," Twilight sighed, "at least it doesn't make me sound so bizarre."

"Do you think you're bizarre?" Shining Armour asked. It was not a sarcastic question, but rather genuine concern over her feelings.

"I used to think I wasn't. At least, not as much as anypony else."

"So what's changed?"

"Being Twilight's 'twin,'" Twilight said, "don't get me wrong, she's probably the nicest pony I've ever met, aside from my own brother, of course. It's just, I really don't like feeling that I'm being compared to her. We might look the same, but we're not the same."

"You might have more in common than you think."

"Maybe. And... can you not tell anypony what I just said? I really don't want Twilight to hear it and, um, take it the wrong way."

Shining Armour brought a hoof to his lips in affirmation and gave her a knowing nod before jerking away from her and breaking into a series of deep coughs.

"Are you alright?" Twilight asked in concern.

"Fine," Shining Armour said, "I've had to do shifts when I was a Private in the Royal Guard with worse." Shining Armour coughed again, and Twilight waited patiently until he was finished. "But don't worry. I won't tell anypony anything if you don't want me to, Twiley."

"Thanks," Twilight said, trying not to wince at the all too familiar nickname.

A brief moment of silence was shared before Shining Armor changed the subject. "So, you're Twilight's student now?"

"Yes, I am."

"At the risk of sounding like an overly proud older brother, I'm happy that she's found a student of her own, like Princess Celestia did for her. There's nothing that's like teaching somepony how to do something."

"Wait a minute, Twilight's your little sister?"

Shining Armour gave a nod. "Yes."

"And the Royal Guard... I'm guessing it's this world's military, right?"

"We prefer to think of ourselves as law enforcement and security, but yes, when the kingdom is at war, we fight to protect it."

Twilight's older brother was in the military, with a patient, understanding personality, and tenacity that occasionally crossed the line into boyish stubbornness.

It was the exact same story for the human version and the pony version of Twilight's older brother. Relationship... personality... even the nickname that had accidentally slipped out from his mouth. It couldn't be just a coincidence.

Of course. If Twilight had a version of herself in this world, that meant...

"Argh, why did I not think about that until now?" Twilight said in frustration as she started pacing back and forth along the balcony, "I was so caught up with my own twin that I didn't even realize the same rule would apply to everypony else! The girls from school... you... and I'm going to guess that Princess Cadence was Twilight's old babysitter somehow?"

"Most ponies prefer the term foalsitting."

"I can't believe I didn't see it earlier! My babysitter Cadenza, her babysitter Cadence. Everything is too similar to be a coincidence, but this should all be impossible! An alternate world, or universe, or whatever you want to call it, where everyone is copied over is just science fiction, not reality!"

"I heard that your world doesn't have any magic," Shining Armour said.

"What's that have to do with anything?"

"Well, ever since before my little sister was born until now, I've used magic. To pick up toy blocks, to make tea for my wife, and to adjust my armour straps and wield my spear.

"I can't imagine a world that has no magic in it. In fact, I'd say it's impossible. Magic exists, like the air around us that we're breathing right now. And yet, I know that somewhere far away, there's a place where magic doesn't exist."

Shining Armor paused to look up, silently beckoning for Twilight to do as well.

Twilight cast her gaze skyward, and caught her breath at the night sky. It was filled with more stars and constellations than she had ever seen in her life. She had been so busy talking with Shining Armour that she had completely ignored the sky.

Like her failure to realize the twin rule applied to the ponies around her, she had missed the obvious in her haste to sort out her own problems.

"Millions of miles away," Shining Armor continued, "in a place where you can't breathe, is a fire burning so hot you would melt before getting close to it, and so bright you would be blind before you even got the chance. When you think about it that way, it sounds impossible.

"Just because you can't explain something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. You need to just accept that it does exist and figure out how to explain why, instead of saying why it shouldn't."

"Stars are made up by various different elements," Twilight countered, "the reason they burn that bright is because of nuclear energy. No magic messing around with the scientific laws of the universe."

"But if ponies had said that stars are impossible, and just ignored them, then how would they have ever known that?"

Twilight opened her mouth only to find that she had no rebuttal. She closed it to find that she was smiling as she remembered how Shining Armor and her would constantly bicker with one another. Of course, Shining Armor always won, but Twilight never stopped trying.

And as for this Shining Armour, he certainly had a point. Like it or not, she was a magical talking unicorn in a world filled with magical talking ponies that looked and acted almost exactly like someone she knew.

"You're right," Twilight conceded, "I guess complaining won't solve anything."

Hoofsteps announced the arrival of an anxious servant. "Is there anything I can get you, Prince Shining Armour, sir? Or you, Miss?"

"No, we're... on second thought, could you find us an atlas? I think we have a copy in the far left corner of the library," Shining Armour requested.

"Of course, Prince Shining Armour, sir. Right away, sir."

"Prince?" Twilight inquired.

"Since I'm married to Princess Cadence, that officially makes me a prince," Shining Armor explained, "although, if I'm honest, I still can't help thinking of myself as anything but Captain of the Guard. Sick for a week and I already miss yelling at the recruits."

The servant quickly came back with a thick hardcover atlas.

"Thank you," Shining Armour said warmly.

"Is there anything else you need, sir?"

"No, that's fine. Thank you."

The servant quickly bowed and left.

"Kind of hard to see," Twilight remarked as she squinted at the map on the cover in the dim light.

Shining Armor's horn glowed in response, lighting up the balcony in a soft rosy pink and flipped it open to the world map of Equestria's version of Earth.

"Better," Twilight remarked, "now, where are we on this map?" She started tracing her hoof near the equator to mark where she was searching.

"Try higher," Shining Armour advised.

Twilight's hoof moved a few inches higher.

"Try near the top."

"Near the top? That's... the Frozen North. It's all ice, except for that bit of green space. Must be a mistake. Wait... the Crystal Empire? The Crystal Empire is in that little green space surrounded by miles of ice? That's..." Twilight didn't finish her sentence as she saw her quasi-brother's expression.

"Impossible?" Shining Armour suggested.

"You know what?" Twilight sighed, "you win. I'm giving up trying to make sense of magic. It doesn't follow any scientific principles whatsoever. Science would not allow a moderate climate to exist in the middle of the Arctic."

"Magic has it's own rules," Shining Armor informed her, "but science and magic are closer together than you might think."

Just then, a pale green light lit up the balcony and the walls around her. Twilight looked up to see the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

An arc of dazzling green light was dancing across the night sky.

"An aurora borealis," Shining Armour said, "isn't it beautiful?"

Another arc joined the first, and then another, all dancing around in a chaotic but still beautiful harmony. They moved like a fish moving it's fin and body in tandem to reach their destination.

One arc fizzled out, and then another, only to have them reappear a moment later like they had never vanished, and continued to gracefully swim across the night sky.

Belatedly, Twilight realized she had never answered her sort-of brother's question. "It's gorgeous."

"And if the Crystal Empire wasn't near the North Pole, we wouldn't be watching this right now," Shining Armour reminded her alternate world sister.

Twilight glanced back at the map, lit faintly by the candle but mostly by the light show above her. Suddenly the fact that she was located in a little patch of green space in the middle of a frozen wasteland did not seem like an important detail anymore.

For this one time, she would just forget her sense of curiosity and enjoy the show while it was still playing on the black backdrop of the sky above her.

Who was she kidding? She was a student now. She would need to ask questions more than ever.

But maybe, if the magical world around her could show her more beautiful sights like the one she was now seeing, maybe she could afford to be a little less demanding to know all the facts.

No. That would not work for her, either. She wanted the facts, and as soon as she could get them. Unlike Shining Armor, Twilight had always felt out of place in a situation she could not fully explain. She was a scientist at heart.

But maybe, Twilight thought, I can figure out the world around me. I just need to ask questions that help me figure out the world around me as it is, not like I want it to be. Like a real scientist would in my place.

After talking for what seemed like hours, Twilight started yawning and excused herself. Thankfully, another servant came back to check on Shining Armor, apparently at Cadence's insistence. He was more than happy to escort Twilight to a guest room.

Twilight thanked him for his time and entered, turning on the bedside electric lamp and crawling into bed. She turned the lights off, but sleep eluded her.

Instead, another feeling found her.

Homesickness.

It was only hours after she entered the portal, but it felt like a entire day already.

Right now, in the human world, she would have just finished reading a book, slipping in a bookmark with actual hands and setting it down on the nightstand beside her. The nightstand that was her own, not some alien one in an ancient castle.

At least tomorrow, she could start doing preliminary research into magic, and take a shaky step onto the road back home.

Chapter Eight

The park was rather nice. It was not large, but there was plenty of open space available. The luscious grass was a deep green with a few thick trees that provided ample shade for the ponies relaxing underneath them. There was a lack of swingsets or other playground equipment, so the colts and fillies entertained themselves by playing tag or jump rope while their mothers called out words of caution, which were cheerfully ignored.

Aside from a few double-takes, nopony reacted to Twilight or the princess standing around in plain sight. Political apathy was evidently a problem in Equestria.

The weather was ideal to go out. The sky was light blue and a few fluffy clouds drifted overhead. It was also pleasantly warm. Twilight had to remind herself that she was in a warm, green park in the middle of what the atlas offically called "The Frozen North."

"Exactly how does the Empire do it?" Twilight wondered.

Princess Twilight seemed confused. "Do what?"

Twilight spread her hooves expansively. "Manage to make a perfect climate without even having a trace of the Arctic conditions that, according to your atlas, should be below forty degrees and under about twenty feet of snow."

"Well," Pinkie Pie started while Twilight braced herself for something ridiculous, "there was this really mean old king, and then the Princesses fought him, and then the king made the whole Empire vanish for a thousand years. And then the Empire came back, and they were all sad, but then Spike found the Crystal Heart and it helps make the kingdom really nice."

"The Crystal Heart feeds off of the love and positive emotions of the residents of the Empire and harnesses the magical energy to generate a force field with a illusionary projection as well as create a milder climate," Princess Twilight translated.

"And what about King He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Twilight asked.

Princess Twilight looked around, as if checking to see if anypony was listening in. "We don't say his name in public. Especially not in the Crystal Empire," she said in an ominous tone.

"Wow," Twilight said, "and here I thought Equestria was a nice place to live."

"Magic is a tool. It can be used for good... or for not-so-good. Some ponies are infamous for using the not-so-good kind."

"So... would there be magic that's banned?"

Princess Twilight pursed her lips. "Technically, no. All forms of magic are legal so long as no harm is intentionally done and the unicorn in question can pull it off. But in practice... there are just some kinds of magic a sane pony won't use."

"Ever," Pinkie Pie added dramatically.

"Good to know," Twilight said. "So what's step one in doing magic a sane pony would use to get herself home?"

"Step one is finding something that we can practice with," Princess Twilight replied, "I think that there are a few rocks that we can-"

"Like this one?" Pinkie Pie asked, balancing a small stone on her nose.

"Actually, yes. Where did you find it?"

Pinkie Pie flipped the stone up into the air and caught it with one hoof while she pointed to a patch of flat grass a few steps away from herself with the other. "Right over there. Hey Twilight, catch!"

Pinkie Pie tossed the pebble and it bounced off Twilight's forehead. "Ow!"

"Pinkie!" Princess Twilight admonished.

"What? I said catch," Pinkie Pie protested.

Twilight sighed in frustration and turned her attention to the object which she was going to be familiarizing herself with for the next untold period of time.

The rock about as large as Twilight's hoof. It was triangular and coarse, with a sharp pointed end. She picked it up experimentally, feeling its weight. Not as light as a feather, but close enough to it.

"Remember how you made the pages turn yesterday?" the princess asked.

Twilight nodded.

"That was a very simple form of levitation. Usually, we would still be focusing on flipping the pages today. But, accounting for your potential ability, we'll skip right to levitating entire objects."

Twilight hoped she did not look as nervous as she felt. "Okay. How do I do that?"

"As I said, turning the pages and lifting an object stems from the same spell: telekinesis. It's just what you did yesterday, just a little harder," Princess Twilight said reassuringly. "The first thing you need to do is clear your mind and relax, so take a deep breath."

Pinkie Pie took in an exaggerated gasp of air, held it with her cheeks puffed out, and exhaled. Both Twilights stared at her.

"Pinkie Pie," Princess Twilight asked, "what are you doing?"

"Taking a really deep breath," Pinkie Pie replied.

"I think she meant why," Twilight specified.

"I thought that Twilight would be lonely on her own, so I'm going to learn magic along with her so that she doesn't feel so nervous!" Pinkie Pie declared.

"I'm not nervous," Twilight interjected.

"It's going to require discipline and concentration," Princess Twilight warned.

"I can do it!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Do you even know the definition of concentration?"

"Sure I do! Concentration. Noun. The ability to give your attention or thought to a single object or activity. The ability to concentrate."

"Did you just quote the dictionary?"

"Uh-hunh. The Mareiam-Wester."

"Girls," Princess Twilight interrupted, "we need to focus."

It took Twilight a moment to remember that she was still holding a stone. She set it down gently on the grass, took a breath and exhaled, clearing her mind in preparation for the mental strain.

She took in another breath and exhaled. For good luck.

"Good," Princess Twilight encouraged, "now imagine the rock gently floating up."

"Okay." Twilight shut her eyes and concentrated on the stone. She willed it to shoot up.

She opened her eyes to find that the stone was still on the ground, unmoved.

She also realized that Pinkie Pie was straining hard with her eyes closed, facing her own stone. She opened them and smiled at both Twilight's bewildered looks. "Don't worry, Twilight, I didn't do well either my first time! My first party went a little bit better, but that's my special talent."

Twilight checked her flank for the Five-Pointed Star of Magical Destiny. "Yeah, well according to this, magic is my special talent."

"Well, not all Cutie Marks are exactly the same. And it's a star," Pinkie Pie said, "maybe it means you're good at stargazing!"

Twilight liked the thought of a stargazing Cutie Mark. Although she would have preferred a telescope in that case.

"But she and I are-" Princess Twilight objected before stopping herself, "never mind. Let's get back on track, shall we?"

Twilight tried not to smile at Pinkie Pie derailing and baffling the princess.

"Right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "concentration and discipline!"

She slid a hoof across her lips like sealing a zipper. Twilight swore she could almost hear the sound effect.

"Just try again," Princess Twilight prompted, "learning new spells is tricky at the best of times."

Twilight nodded and tried again. No result, except Pinkie Pie making comical faces as she tried willing her own stone to move, opening her eyes as wide as dinner plates as she waved her hooves at the rock. Twilight snorted as she covered her mouth to keep from laughing at the comic relief.

She attempted it again a second time. And then a tenth time.

She had lost count when she opened her eyes to discover that Pinkie Pie was gone.

"Where'd Pinkie go?" Twilight asked.

"She said she saw a balloon and took off. You didn't hear her?"

Twilight scratched her head. "I heard her say something. I didn't know she was just going to take off."

"She means well, Twilight."

Twilight wished that Pinkie meaning well meant practicing with her until she succeeded.

Twilight wasn't sure how much time had passed after Pinkie Pie had left. Every minute seemed longer, at least. Princess Twilight claimed that she was starting to lift the rock a few centimeters of the ground. She had her eyes closed every time she tried to focus, so Twilight had to take her teacher's word for it.

Still, every attempt felt like failure. She had to remind herself that this was her ticket home, and she had to perservere, no matter how difficult it became.

It was easier, at least, to focus while Pinkie Pie wasn't around distracting her.

"Relax," Princess Twilight reminded her student.

She inhaled and exhaled through her teeth.

"Try unclenching your teeth," Princess Twilight advised.

Twilight took in air properly this time.

"Maybe we should just call it a day," Princess Twilight suggested, "this is starting to get to you."

"No!" Twilight cried, "I mean, no, thank you. I'm just a little... nervous. That's all. I can keep trying."

"I really don't think that's a good idea. Using magic for such a long time when you can't fully control it isn't something we should be taking lightly."

"I'm fine," Twilight insisted.

The princess – Twilight's mentor and guide – put a gentle hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "If you're frustrated, this isn't meant to be easy. And you are getting progress done, even if it's not the amount you're expecting."

Twilight's face softened. "Alright. I'll stop... just after a few more tries?"

Princess Twilight took her hoof off her student. "Two more attempts."

"Deal."

"Now," Princess Twilight advised in an authoritative voice, "I want you to picture every single thing you can about the spell, from the stone to the effect on the grass around it. Make the image in your mind as vivid as possible."

Twilight attempted another try. This time, she made sure to focus on every little detail: the tiny rustle the grass made as the stone bobbed up and down slightly as it drifted upwards, the-

"Hey guys! I'm back!" Pinkie Pie declared in the loudest way possible.

It made Twilight wonder why she had missed her.

"You know, it's really hard to find a place around here that sells juice boxes," Pinkie Pie commented as she dropped a brightly packaged box off her back and rifled through it, "and the line was so long. It was three whole minutes long! I thought I was going to go crazy!"

You can't go to where you already are, Twilight thought to herself.

"Here," Pinkie Pie said as she took out a juice box with a cartoon Princess Cadence winking on the front and offered it to Twilight, "this will cheer you up!"

Twilight examined the carton. It was "Crystal Berry Punch," which was "royally delicious," according to the front of the cardboard packaging. She took an experimental sip, and smiled as the sweet taste parched her dry mouth and quenched her throat. "Mmm. Wow. This is really good!"

"Thank you, Pinkie," Princess Twilight said graciously.

"You're welcome!" Pinkie Pie said, "it's my pleasure to help my friends! Especially friends that have been working so hard and for so long!"

"It hasn't been that long," Twilight said.

Princess Twilight glanced at her student. "We've been at this for two hours."

Twilight looked up at the Sun and confirmed that it had indeed moved across the sky, marking the passage of time. Had it really been two hours?

It was a wonder that Pinkie Pie was around for most of that time. Twilight had estimated Pinkie Pie's attention span to be that of a dog's, divided by a factor of how many shiny things were in view.

"You know, I really don't like how they're using Princess Cadence to advertise," Princess Twilight said as she hovered the juice box, turning and tumbling it about to examine every inch as if there was a hidden secret inside.

"But I heard Princess Cadence loves them!" Pinkie Pie said.

"I've heard her mention it, but it doesn't mean they can just put her on their merchandise!" Princess Twilight protested.

"Why not? She looks kind of funny!"

"Maybe it's a little... invasive," Twilight agreed, "but I don't think there's anything stopping them." She trotted over to the box containing serveral more juice cartons and added, "especially since there's a quote from her."

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said to the princess, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"No!" Princess Twilight said, "not at all, Pinkie. I just disagree with how somepony is doing something, that's all."

"And we don't have much space to complain," Twilight pointed out, "you've gone out of your way to make me feel less embarrassed about myself, and you've brought us drinks that you bought just for us. I know I haven't shown it, but I really appreciate how you're trying to make me feel at home, Pinkie."

"Do you really mean that, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked, her eyes glittering.

"Yes, Pinkie. I do."

"Does this mean we're friends?"

"Well, I... yes. It does."

Instantly Twilight was crushed by Pinkie Pie's embrace.

"Ohmigosh this is the best day ever!" Pinkie Pie squealed, "I'm friends with my best friend twice! That's like... like double friendship! Two totally tenacious Twilight's for the total price of two! So many tees!"

Pinkie Pie let go and started bouncing around and cartwheeling while singing "I'm friends with Twilight! I'm friends with Twilight!" while said Twilight took the oppourtunity to breathe.

"That was really nice of you to say that to Pinkie Pie," Princess Twilight said, "I know she can be a little overbearing..."

"I meant it," Twilight said earnestly.

The princess smiled, and then indicated the stone that still sat on the ground in front of Twilight. "Care to give it one more try?"

"Maybe this time I'll get it more than two centimeters off the ground," Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie's head snapped towards Twilight as she stopped in midair before zipping over to the rock. She shoved a hoof into her thick poofy mane, procured a tape measure, and set it up next to Twilight's stone. "All right! This time we'll have precise... uh..."

"Measurements?" Princess Twilight suggested.

"Yeah! Measurements!"

Twilight tucked all her legs in, sat down, and leaned close to the pebble. Later, she could not say why she had done it, only that it felt right at the time.

"Well, that's a bit of an unusual position for spells," Princess Twilight said, "but whatever works."

She closed her eyes, and focused. But an image of the juice box floated in front of her, and the tape measure that Pinkie Pie was holding for her with baited breath (that smelled like Crystal Berries.) She could imagine Princess Twilight standing right behind her, hoping that her student would succeed.

Twilight Sparkle felt a tingle. A tiny pleasant electric spark that traveled from her heart to her horn. Her mind rushed to the image of the stone, slowly pulling it upwards as if taking gently grabbing it with her own hand. She could feel a tug in her gut... and then it shut off. Twilight opened her eyes.

"So, did I get it two centimeters off the ground?" Twilight asked.

"Nope!" Pinkie Pie delcared.

Go figure. She thought she had something that time. A feeling she could not explain. A magical feeling.

"Buuut," Pinkie Pie continued, "you lifted it exactly five-point-seven centimeters!"

Now it was her teacher that took the opportunity to crush Twilight by grabbing her off the ground via magic and squeezing her. "You did it! I knew that if you tried, you could do it eventually! Five-point-seven centimeters is over double what you thought you could accomplish!"

"Twilight... crushing... me..."

Princess Twilight let go physically as well as loosen her grip magically. "Sorry. Just really excited. Let's go and celebrate!" Her stomach growled, and she added, "how about we get some lunch first? Then we can show you around."

"I was kind of hoping I could keep practicing," Twilight suggested innocently, "you know, since we already seem to have a bit of momentum going."

Princess Twilight smiled at her pupil's devious attempt to gain more practice time. "I think it's better we end things off on a high note."

"Yeah! Let's celebrate!" Pinkie Pie chimed in.

"Okay," Twilight relented.

"Oh! I know the perfect place! Shining Armor said there's a really homey kind of family-run restaurant that sells some really good Crystal Berry jam!" Pinkie Pie said as she wiped drool from her mouth. "Mmm... Crystal Berry jam..."

"Is it far?" Princess Twilight asked.

"Actually, it's really close! Follow me!"

As Twilight trotted after Pinkie Pie's bouncing figure, she spotted a small rock, almost the size of the one she had just been practicing on, right ahead of her. She slowed down her walking speed as she directed her attention focused on making it hover upwards.

The pebble rolled over in the grass instead. No spark or tingle.

"Hey Twilight! Time is food!" Pinkie Pie said as she ran back to Twilight, accidentally kicking away the pebble.

Twilight hurried her pace to catch up. "Sorry. Thought I saw something."

"Uh-hunh," Princess Twilight said, "I'm sure the rock just happened to catch your eye."

Twilight said nothing, only recalled Shining Armor's favourite word for the occasion: Busted.

"Hunh? Rock?" Pinkie Pie asked "I didn't see a rock. Was it pretty? Or shiny? Or pretty and shiny?"

"We made good progress today," Princess Twilight said to her student in a more gentle tone, "but magic takes a toll on ponies if they try too hard. And besides, you're not going to be in Equestria for all that long, so you might as well enjoy it while you can. The Crystal Empire is a beautiful place to go sightseeing. And I'm sure that everyone that you're waiting for back home are going to be fine."

Twilight met the reassuring eyes of her mentor. "I hope so."

"I know so."

Twilight hoped the princess was as sure as sounded.

Pinkie Pie's eyes furrowed in confusion. "What's everyone? And why are you using those weird words again after you went through the mirror?"

"Slang," Twilight explained.

"Yeah! Like that one!"

"Slang. Noun. Language peculiar to a certain group. An informal nonstandard vocabulary made up of abnormal figures of speech."

"Did you just quote a dictionary?" Princess Twilight asked.

"The Merriam-Webster. I like to read it when I'm bored sometimes."

"So what's the definition of 'measurement'?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Measurement. Noun. Act of measuring things."

"Ooh, you're good."

"Not really. I ad-libbed both times," Twilight smirked.

"Cheater!" Pinkie Pie accused.

Both Twilight Sparkles looked at each other, and then giggled in unison.

Author's Note

After spending I'm-not-sure-how-long not writing due to depression, and going over this chapter sixteen times to make this just right, being able to put up this chapter tonight is the best birthday present to myself I'll ever give to me.

A thank-you to my Dad and step-mother who made sure I went to the doc and told her all the information, and then watching over me as I started and still am recovering. An extra thank you to Dad (again) for introducing me to Dub FX and his album, Theory Of Harmony. It's the most chillaxed electronic reggae I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Check him out!

Chapter One

Twilight woke up to the sound of her beeping alarm clock, which practically screamed at her to get out of bed. Instead of obeying, she opted to just lie there, half-asleep and exhausted from the ten hour drive by car she had made with her mother to see her older brother before he was sent away on his first mission with the military.

Twilight smiled a little, the thought of her brother piercing through the haze of exhaustion. Sure, she was tired, but missing school for a week and spending it hanging out with her older brother was well worth the cost of having to get up this morning.

Finally, she sat upright and leaned over to turn the alarm clock off, yawned, and then went into her drawers to pick out a light purple skirt, (her favourite), and a baby blue blouse.

Under an hour later, Twilight had her hefty backpack filled with almost overdue library books slung across her shoulders as she said her customary morning goodbye to her mother. Twilight's tiny dog Spike yapped at her as she headed out the door.

Twilight walked to school. The cool morning air and dead leaves that crunched beneath her reminded her that it was already fast-approaching autumn in the school year, although the sunny weather helped combat the autumn frost that would soon be approching.

Another girl walked beside her. Her name was Fluttershy, and as far as Twilight could see it was more or less a self-fullfilling prophecy.

She had walked with Fluttershy for all throughout her high school years, but any attempts at conversation always died as soon as they started. There was an unspoken agreement between both parties to ignore each other's company. Twilight knew that might sound abhorrent to other girls, but she liked things the way they were.

Today, though, Fluttershy kept looking at Twilight indiscreetly, opening her mouth and then closing it repeatedly, as if her mouth wanted to say something but the rest of her body wouldn't allow her.

She couldn't stand it any longer. "What?"

Fluttershy seemed to jump. "Is there anything wrong, Twilight?"

"You keep looking at me."

Fluttershy immediately looked away. "Oh, I'm so sorry, it's just... you remind me of her."

"Her?"

"The girl that came to our school last week."

"I wasn't here last week," Twilight said, "I was out visiting my older brother."

"Oh. Then, um, people might act a little strange when they see you."

"Why?"

"Well, she got really popular and then she left as soon as she did," Fluttershy practically whimpered from her shyness.

"Okay..." Twilight said, "so why'd she leave?"

"She said she had to go back home to Equestria. At least, that's what I think she called it."

"Equestri-what? That's not a real place."

"She said she was from another world."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, she had magical powers too."

"How'd you know?" Fluttershy said in surprise.

"I was being sarcastic. Magic exists in fairy tales. Grow up."

Fluttershy fell silent, except for a tiny sniffle.

Great, Twilight thought to herself in irritation, I made her cry. Just great.

Twilight had some time to kill before first period. A tiny bit of curiosity sparked in the back of her mind. The awarding of the Princess of The Fall Formal had been last week, and she'd missed it completely.

Of course, there was only one candidate that was running, so it was a guarantee who won.

Nevertheless, the bit of curiosity still lingered. What if that girl Fluttershy was talking about somehow got popular enough to beat Sunset Shimmer, the school bully and long-standing winner of the Fall Formal?

It was a ridiculous thought, one with only slightly higher chances of being true than a girl that could cast magic spells; but as Twilight had nothing better to do with her time, she headed towards the gallery anyways.

There were two galleries, one in the principal's office and other for the students out in one of the out of the way hallways of the school. Twilight wondered not for the first time if the principal ever got tired of seeing Sunset Shimmer's face on every single picture of the Fall Formal winners.

Twilight stopped.

Right in front of her was the picture of the new Fall Formal winner, and it wasn't Sunset Shimmer.

It was Twilight.

It was a picture of her, holding Spike, who instead of trying to bolt from the camera like he always did, stood obediently still.

Nearby, a blonde teen with a cowboy hat tucked under her arm leaned against the wall, admiring the picture until she spotted Twilight.

"Howdy," the girl said.

"Hi... you're Applejack, right?" Twilight said.

Applejack nodded. "Yep."

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Twilight said as she jabbed a thumb towards the picture, "I never entered the Fall Formal."

"Yeah, Fluttershy said somethin' about that," the blonde girl said, "she felt bad for ya, so she asked me to talk to ya about what you missed."

Fluttershy had felt bad for Twilight? Twilight's jaw twitched slightly at the thought.

"It's nice of you to do that," Twilight said politely, "but I'll be fine."

"Ya sure, sugarcube? Fluttershy said she tried to tell ya what was going on, but you wouldn't believe her."

"Of course I didn't believe her," Twilight said, "she was telling me that some girl in the school that conveniently left right before I came back from my older brother's apartment had magic powers. I mean, how obvious can you make it that someone made it up?"

Applejack looked at her with pity. "Look, Fluttershy and I were both there when Twilight used her magic against-"

"Twilight?"

"Yeah, her name was Twilight. And ya know, she kinda looks like you."

The first bell signaling it was time to go to class rang. Twilight seized her chance and immediately slipped away from Applejack.

First Fluttershy, and now Applejack. How many other people in the school believed such an insane story?

Judging by the way of how the students in the school reacted to Twilight, everyone. The only ones who didn't buy the story were the ones who had been sick on the day of the Fall Formal. Twilight wondered what could have possibly happened there that would convince so many people so easily.

Whatever the case, the constant whispers whenever she was near the other students was enough to make her uneasy. Some seemed hopeful, and then crushed when they examined Twilight. Others who had known that she existed before her doppelganger's debut merely shook their heads, as if she had just taken some sort of test and failed.

And then there was Sunset Shimmer herself and Fluttershy's friends.

Twilight could tell that they were close knit somehow, but if she hadn't been there to see it herself, she wouldn't have believed it.

It was enough that Fluttershy had friends, the exact same ones that she had fallen out with a year ago, but having Sunset Shimmer as a new member in the circle of friends thoroughly puzzled the suddenly popular girl.

Sunset Shimmer was the most wicked person of anyone in the school, with Fluttershy as one of her prime targets, yet Sunset Shimmer and the rest of the girls walked to their classes talking and laughing with each other as if they'd been friends for years.

Maybe that's what happened, Twilight thought dryly, people were so amazed that Sunset Shimmer was being nice that their only explanation was "a wizard did it."

Twilight rushed outside the classroom as soon as she heard the lunch bell to make sure she was the first in line at the cafeteria. She ordered her food quickly, and then slipped outside just as fast to avoid the crowd of students.

She read her book under the shade of a tree as she ate her lunch. Beside her, Melody played a tune on her flute that she always carried around.

Twilight and Melody weren't exactly friends; they were more like close acquaintences. They didn't talk very much, but when it came time for group projects the two girls always found themselves working together. It became a ritual for Twilight to read her books next to Melody when she practiced her flute at lunch hour.

Twilight didn't mind the flute. It was soft enough that it was easy to tune out, and Melody was good enough that it didn't shriek and make irritating noises constantly.

She snapped her book shut in fustration. Instantly, the music died. Melody turned to look at her close acquaintance, giving her an arched eyebrow.

"If you're going to tell me how I look just like the other Twilight Sparkle, save it," Twilight snapped.

"I was just surprised you pulled your nose out of the book," Melody said.

"The book's about magic spells. And right now, I'm sick of magic being the explanation of why everyone in the school suddenly knows who I am!"

"What happened at the dance was either magic, or the most complicated sound and light show known to mankind," Melody said.

"Don't tell me you believe this magic girl too," Twilight groaned.

"I do," Melody said, "I even tested the rumour."

"What rumour?"

“They say that if you put your hand against that statue-” Melody pointed towards a white marble horse that kept a silent watch over the school, “-you can hear the voice of the other Twilight Sparkle as she rules over her kingdom.”

“So have you tried it? Hear any voices?”

“No,” Melody admitted, “but I did hear the sounds of a pan flute.”

“I don't believe this,” Twilight said as she grabbed her lunch tray in search of somehere else to eat her lunch.

Melody shrugged and continued practicing her flute.

Twilight went back inside the cafeteria and looked for an empty table, spotting one in the back corner.

She got a rude shock when she looked around at the other tables' occupants. Even the cliques were different.

No. Different wasn't the word. The word was more like nonexistant.

Normally, jocks sat with jocks, fashionistas sat with fashionistas, and girls like Twilight sat quietly in the corner of the room and ate their lunch in peace.

Not any more. A jock was chumming it up with a band geek and the fashionistas were giving the techies much-needed fashion tips.

Like the rest of Canterlot, even the cliques had been rearranged into a chaotic mess that didn't make any sense. It was like she had walked into a completely different high school by accident. Canterlot High didn't feel like Canterlot High any more, and for a moment she almost felt nostalgic for it.

Twilight's stomach growled, cutting off her train of thought and returning it to what she had came for: a place to eat in peace.

She steeled herself and ignored the looks she was given as she made her way to the table.

"Hey, Twilight!" a student called out to Twilight.

Without thinking, she tracked the voice to one of the jocks at the table near the center of the cafeteria. The table was occupied by Fluttershy along with Applejack and a few other girls.

Twilight was half-tempted to ignore them, but she instead sighed and took a seat with the girls against her better judgement.

Twilight Sparkle sat down at the table and eyed Sunset Shimmer warily.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight Sparkle blurted out.

Sunset Shimmer swallowed her food before answering. “Same thing you're doing. Eating my lunch.”

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes. “I know that. Why are you sitting with these girls? Don't you have some revenge scheme you should be planning?”

“I'm done with all that,” Sunset Shimmer said, “I've resolved to stop being a total jerk and get what I want the right way.”

“So you're magically changing into a nicer person,” Twilight Sparkle summed up, “heard that one before.”

“I really mean it.”

“Heard that one before too.”

“Hey!” Pinkie Pie, a bubbly girl with long curly hair said, “she really means it!”

“Look, we've been hit by Sunset Shimmer too, you know,” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight knew Rainbow Dash as the school jock.

“And you believe her when she says she's changing... why, exactly?” Twilight said skeptically.

“We made a promise to a friend,” Applejack said.

“To who? Fluttershy's make-believe friend named Twilight Sparkle?” the real Twilight said sarcastically.

Sunset Shimmer gripped the table so hard her knuckles went white. “Make all the jokes you want about me, Twilight Sparkle. But the other Twilight Sparkle is real, like it or not, and she gave the chance to turn my life around. If you don't believe us, then fine.” The outburst done with, Sunset Shimmer let go and buried herself in the task of eating her food.

“I know it's hard to believe,” Fluttershy said with sympathy, “but Sunset Shimmer is right, Twilight Sparkle is real.”

“Fine. So she's real,” Twilight said stubbornly, “I still don't believe anything she supposedly did was any single bit as wonderful as everone is making her out to be.”

Rarity's eyes lit up in realization, and then laughed. “Oh, I think I understand what's really going on here. You're jealous of the other Twilight, aren't you?”

“Jealous! No way am I jealous of her! I'm just sick of everyone talking about her!”

“Jealous McJealousypants,” Pinkie Pie chimed in.

“I'm not jealous!” Twilight almost yelled as she grabbed her lunch tray and went to sit at an unoccupied table in the cafeteria.

Sunset Shimmer looked up from her food in hypocritical disapproval.

“She really needs to lighten up a little,” Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack said nothing as she took a sidelong glance at the lonely girl in lavender.

Chapter Seven

The next morning, the dining hall was empty except for Twilight, who ate in silence. The noise of the castle hustle and bustle were choked off behind thick marble doors, leaving only a muffled murmur where there should have been a stream of chatter. The crystal room seemed dull and drab.

Twilight ate slowly, letting her mind wander back to a dream she had had in the guest bed of the castle.

She had been in a pit. Above her, she could make out the dark outline of Princess Twilight looking down over the edge of the hole in concern.

"Are you all right?" Princess Twilight called down.

"Fine," Twilight had answered, "how do I get out of here?"

"Just... give me a second," Princess Twilight replied, "I'm going to get some rope. I'll be right back, I promise," then she left without a sound, leaving Twilight at the bottom of a hole in the ground.

"Can't you just use magic?" Twilight called up to the expert magician.

No reply.

And then... nothing happened. She just sat there. At the bottom of a pit. Hoping that Princess Twilight would make good on her word and come back.

In hindsight, it was thoroughly bizarre. Things were supposed to happen in dreams, like going to school and slamming into the glass doors.

Dreams weren't supposed to just... leave her waiting for the next big event. The only reason she even remembered the dream at all was because it made her feel... scared? Depressed? She found herself searching for the exact word to convey her feelings.

And then the dream moved onto something else. She couldn't remember it at all, but what she did remember was the lingering half-image of a woman. It was her vice-principal, Miss Luna, but she had her hair pulled back and tucked underneath a camouflage field cap with a some sort of military pin on it.

In her moment of distraction, she knocked over a carefully arranged fork onto the floor. She quickly scooped it up and set it aside, making sure it could not be confused for a clean fork. Things that dropped onto the floor, no matter how many times she was cited the five second rule, was not clean.

At least the servants were not there to silently whisk it away before going back to pretending they were not silently watching her every move.

They had been here a few minutes before, and hovered over her shoulder until she had politely dismissed them. It was a little unnerving to be silently watched while she ate, especially since she probably looked like a little bit of a slob with her newly acquired mouth. The servants had dutifully nodded and left at her request, although they seemed disappointed.

The servants really did care about their jobs and the ponies they worked for, Twilight realized. The servant that had been checking on Shining Armor last night had been genuinely concerned for him. Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence were not merely just their employers; they were ponies who they genuinely wanted to make happy. Even if it was simply to make sure that their invited foreign guest was as comfortable as possible.

Twilight realized what word she had been looking for.

The word was alone.

Even with her reclusive lifestyle, she had never been so alone as she was now. She had always had her parents or her older brother by her side, and that was all the company she had ever needed. She had been alone before, but by her own choice, and in the knowledge there was always someone there if she needed them.

Twilight looked around her. The table she sat at was large enough to feed an army, but the only one here was herself.

Twilight started crying. She couldn't help it. Tears welled up in her eyes and dripped down her face as she wiped them away with limbs that should never have been hers.

She needed to succeed, no matter what the cost.

Twilight quickly polished off her plate and slid off the chair. The first step, as it always was, was to research as much as she could.

The hall doors swung wide open just as Twilight was about to open them herself. Princess Twilight trotted into the hall, smiling and energetic, flooding the room with cheery bright light and the lively sound of ponies going about their day. The floor even started to sparkle as the light caught it.

"There you are!" Princess Twilight said, "we all had breakfast a little earlier this morning, but considering what you've been through yesterday, I thought it'd be better if you slept in a little."

Twilight reached for her pocket where her cell phone was before remembering she no longer had her cell phone. Or pockets. She quickly put her right hoof back on the floor. "What time is it?"

"Not too late in the morning. Are you ready for your lessons?"

"Lessons? I thought you were only teaching me once we got to Ponyville?"

"Well, I don't see any reason why we can't start today. Unless you would rather we wait, of course."

"No! No, that's great. I'd love to start today."

"I guess it's decided, then," Princess Twilight said.

Twilight nodded before inclining her head off to the side. "All right. Just let me freshen up first."

The twins agreed to meet at the castle gates. Just as Twilight was about to leave, her teacher asked her if anything was wrong.

"I'm fine," Twilight breathed before finding herself a mare's lavatory.

As the splash of icy cold water hit her face, she realized something.

She was not alone. Not completely.

She had Princess Twilight Sparkle. She had Shining Armor. She had Cadence. They were there if she needed them.

Twilight had been avoiding looking into the mirror, but now she looked at her reflection in the eye. The first thing she realized is that she had been nervously chewing on a strand of her mane without realizing it. Twilight quickly flicked the hair out her mouth. She hoped nopony had noticed her doing it. But aside from the frazzled mane, she looked determined.

She would make it back. And with the help she had, it might not be such an impossible task as she made it out to be. She would be back in the Empire and headed for home in three months. Then everything could go back to the way it was, with her mom, dad, big brother, and her books on the same planet-slash-universe as she was.

Three months. Just a little past New Year's. Then everything would be back to normal.

She turned off the tap, (and scolded herself for wasting water staring in the mirror,) dried herself off with a towel, put it back on the rack neatly folded, and trotted back outside, feeling better than she had been since she woke up this morning.

Princess Twilight scanned the crowd. She had purposely stood off to one side, not only to stay out of the way of hoof traffic, but to try and not draw too much attention to herself. she breathed a small thanks to a relatively invisible force for being a new princess, so if trumpets were not there to announce her arrival, she could still do normal things like go to the bookstore without being swarmed with ponies asking her for her bold new plans for Equestria. (Her bold plan, which she had meticulously crafted after several nights of worry, was to hope she did not mess up and cause the kingdom to collapse, be taken over by sinister forces, or blown up by Cutie Mark Crusader experiments.)

On cue, she spotted Twilight in the crowd. Her head was held higher, and her strides were more sure, more resolute than before. It was a marked improvement from the red eyes and mane chewing. Princess Twilight needed to talk to her about killing the habit as soon as she could.

Which only made Princess Twilight wonder even more what had her in such a depressed mood. Princess Twilight was hoping after their day out, her student would open up a little more.

"You're in a good mood," Princess Twilight said, her tone nonchalant.

"Guess I was just a little tired earlier."

Princess Twilight decided to change the subject. "We'll start our lessons in the park."

"Why the park? Why not someplace in the castle?" Twilight asked.

"It's a beautiful day, for one. And two, there'll be less-"

"Hi!" Pinkie Pie burst in, "are you going somewhere?"

"-chances of being interrupted," Princess Twilight finished.

"Sorry, didn't catch that. Whadja say?"

"I said that we were going out to the park. So I can start teaching Twilight magic."

"Can I come?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Princess Twilight glanced at her student. Twilight looked like she was trying not to make a face.

"Sorry, Pinkie," Princess Twilight said, "I would rather we do this alone. I don't want anything to distract Twilight."

"I can be really, really, quiet if you want me to! I promise!" Pinkie Pie said earnestly.

"I don't mind if you come and watch, Pinkie Pie," Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie gave Twilight a bear hug. "Omigosh thank you so much, Twilight!"

Pinkie Pie squeezed her, and then let go. Twilight gasped for air.

As they left the main gates, Princess Twilight whispered to her pupil, "I'm surprised you wanted her to come along."

"Just thought it would be nice to have some company," Twilight whispered back.

"And there's something else I need to talk to you about. Something vitally important if you're going to succeed in your lessons."

Twilight swallowed. "And what is that?"

"Don't chew your mane. It's kind of gross."

"Sorry."