Mirror the Fun

Princess Twilight found me later at the foot of the bed, staring at the crest on my skirt. "Oh, there you are," she said, leaning over the side. "I was worried you'd snuck out."

I mumbled an inaudible response. I could hear that Flash had fallen asleep about ten minutes ago, and while my head wanted to make a joke about that, my heart wasn't in it. I'd put on the fluffy dressing gown on the floor, while Princess, who seemed much more comfortable walking around naked, slid down next to me in the buff. Glancing at her, I finally saw what Lyra had been talking about; she did have a certain blissful glow about her. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

I considered this for a moment and decided that "content, but drained and resentful" wasn't the answer she was looking for. "I guess you didn't need me after all," I said, dodging the question.

She snorted. "Are you kidding me? I've never felt anything like that, not even in heat. There's no way that I could have done that if you hadn't been there." She snuggled against me. "You were amazing."

It was hard to know what to make of that. Her voice softened when I didn't immediately respond. "Seriously, thank you," she said. "I know that must have been hard to watch at points. You don't have to do it again if you don't want to."

I wanted to, much, much more than I was prepared to admit to her. But the more I wanted it, the less I deserved it. "Do you want me to?" I asked, avoiding the question again. "You seemed okay on your own."

"Maybe this time, but you know body dysmorphia isn't a one-time fix. If I'm going to get used to the idea, we'll have to do this a few more times."

"Aren't you worried about me stealing Flash away from you?"

She chuckled hesitantly. "Not really," she answered, a little more slowly than I liked. "It was silly of me to worry about that in the first place. I trust him, and I trust you." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, like I did when I was nervous about something. "Actually, I was thinking," she said. "I know it's kind of taboo to talk about these things, but since you and I are the same person... is it really necessary to say that he's just my boyfriend, or just your boyfriend? Why can't he just be... Twilight Sparkle's boyfriend?"

She sent me a hopeful grin, but backed down when she saw me staring incredulously back at her. "It's just a thought," she said more quietly. "We don't have to make any big decisions right now."

That was some comfort. "I guess."

We sat in silence for a while. "I was wondering," Princess said eventually, "how did you know where to find us? I don't remember giving you my address."

"Pinkie Pie told me," I answered with a shudder. That smile of hers would be haunting my dreams tonight.

Princess eyed me curiously. "Did she make you promise her anything?"

"Yes! With crazy hand motions and everything. She made me keep trying it until I'd got it right."

"What was it?"

I hesitated. "Sorry," I said. "Pinkie Secret."

She didn't look disappointed. "I understand. I'm sure it's important."

I nodded miserably. In less than a day, I would be pretending to be surprised at a surprise party that was now a birthday party for two.

Princess kept up her chipper attitude. "If you want, I can set up a time for you and her to get to know each other," she said. "And all my other friends as well. I'm pretty much living proof that they'll like you for who you are."

"Thanks, but... no thanks." I went back to studying my crest. "I meant what I said about moving away. I know some of my study friends are moving to the city after they graduate. I'll probably go with them. After the mess I've made of things here, this feels like a good time to start over."

"...Are you sure?" She sounded hurt. "There's still a life for you here. You don't have to give it up just because I arrived."

"Why not? You do it so much better. Next to you, I'd just be dragging everyone else down. Everyone would be better off if I just moved on."

"Don't say that." She clung to me. "I am not better than you, and I don't want to steal your friends from you." Then she crossed a line. "After all... you're the real Twilight."

Something swelled up in me. "Don't call me that!" I yelled, slapping her across the face with my skirt.

She fell back against the bed, stunned. I leaned over her, dangling my crest in front of her face. "You see this?" I fumed. "This is what you have that I don't. I betrayed my crest. Don't you get that? You didn't take anything; you got it right, and I got it wrong. You made friends. I didn't. You saved the world. I didn't. You earned a happy life. I. Didn't!" I snarled as she stared back in frightened incomprehension. "You lived up to our destiny. That makes you the real Twilight Sparkle. And I'm just some twisted... nothing! My crest doesn't mean anything! I'm not... I don't..." In a frantic rage I tried to tear the star apart, but ended up just pulling on the fabric. I tugged on it again and again, my arms slowly dropping, shaking and gasping for breath.

I expected her to slap me. It's what I would have done if she'd been the one to start ranting. Instead she put her hands over mine, locking them across the star we shared. "I'm not better than you," she said forcefully. "And you haven't betrayed your destiny. Twilight, we're the same." She linked our fingers and lifted our hands up. Our palms exactly matched. "Not twisted. Not incomplete. The same. And we're both hurt, and we're both afraid, but together, we can make things better." Her eyes lit up. "And I can prove it to you."

She stood up, pulling me with her. We left sleeping Flash behind and returned to her ocean of a main room, looking even more cluttered than when we'd last left it. Princess clicked her tongue, finally seeming to notice the mess, but still fearlessly waded through to the far corner. I followed, puzzled. With a bit of digging, she unearthed a sturdy wooden box, decorated and padlocked. With a twist of the dial she unlocked and opened it, reaching inside reverently. What emerged was a golden, jeweled tiara. I didn't understand at first; it looked cheap, even tacky, and completely out of style even for me. It was only when I recognized the star on top that it finally clicked. "The Element of Magic," I gasped.

"That's right." She stroked its edges tenderly, leaving no marks. "It's all I have left of home. It's the living manifestation of our destiny, yours and mine." She stood up and held it out to me. "I want you to wear it."

I took half a step back. For reasons I couldn't understand, the tiara terrified me. "What would that do?" I asked. "I don't even like friendship."

"That doesn't matter here." She didn't let up. "Magic in this world works differently than in mine. It comes from within, not between. In Equestria, five other Elements were needed to charge it, but here, all of its strength comes from what's in a person's heart. Whoever wears this crown will be transformed into what they truly are; what's on the outside will match what's within." She blushed. "It may also give you giant ears. Pony magic. It can't be helped."

I hesitated a few seconds longer, but eventually accepted the crown from her. It was strangely light, but also hard and inflexible. I suspected that it might be indestructible. "What does it turn you into?" I asked, turning it over. "A pony again?"

"Nothing that extreme. But it brings out the best in me." She smiled encouragingly. "And it'll bring out the best in you, too."

"...All right." With trembling hands, I put it on. It fit perfectly. Suddenly, a bright light flared up around me.

I didn't see what happened next. I certainly didn't feel any different. But whatever Princess saw in me, it wasn't what she'd hoped for. A few seconds was all it took for her to cry out and snatch the crown from my head. She held it to her chest, suddenly looking pale and drained, sniffles coming to her. "Twilight, I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm so, so sorry. But I need to know." She looked into my eyes. "What did Sunset Shimmer do to you?"