Twilight Sparkle and her friends found themselves trotting along the streets of the Crystal Empire as they moved towards their destination. "Your very first Princess Summit, darling," Rarity spoke, "You must be excited."
"Yeah, I am," agreed Twilight, "But I'm a little nervous too."
"Completely understandable darling. Don't worry though you'll do fine. I take it you have your crown in your bag?"
"Yes I do. I just don't feel comfortable wearing it just yet though." Eventually they reached their destination of the Crystal Castle and allowed themselves to be led into the throne room where the other three Princesses stood, waiting.
"Cadance!"
"Twilight!" The two trotted over to each other before they each gave the other a nuzzle. "I haven't seen you since the coronation."
"We have much to discuss," Princess Celestia told her, "But it can wait until tomorrow. It is getting late and all of you must be tired from your trip over here. Now go get some rest, all of you."
--
Twilight and Spike unpacked their bags as they started to get settled into the room they had been given while they were staying at the Empire. As Twilight rummaged through her bags she spotted the Element of Magic which also acted as her crown. She levitated it onto her head before looking at her reflection in the room's vanity mirror before letting out a sigh.
"What's wrong Twi?" Spike questioned.
"I don't know Spike," she admitted, "I'm just worried I guess. Princess Cadance was given the Crystal Empire to rule over. What if now that I'm a princess that Princess Celestia expects me to rule a kingdom too?"
"Don't worry about it Twi," he said, "Unless some new kingdom appears out of thin air I don't think that'll happen. Besides, even if it does happen I'm sure you'll be able to handle it."
"Thanks Spike," she told him, "You always know just what to say. What would I do without you?"
"Make your own lists." At that Twilight let out a small laugh. "But seriously, you should get some rest, big day tomorrow."
"Alright Spike, I'll try to get some sleep." Twilight said before she levitated her crown onto her nightstand and huddled into bed.
--
In the unlit halls of the Crystal Castle wandered a shadowy figure, their features concealed by a cape. The figure made it's way through the passageways making sure not to capture the attention of any guards that were patrolling the halls. It wasn't long before the figure finally stopped in front of a door, having reached their destination.
A soft green glow emitted from under the figure's cloak and the handle to the room was enveloped in magic of the same color. She slowly pushed the handle downwards so as to not make any noise. When she finally heard the tell-tale click of the inner workings she pushed the door inwards, thankful for the well oiled hinges as the door stayed silent.
She immediately poked her head into the room and scanned the area before her eyes landed on the crown resting atop the nightstand. "Bingo." she whispered before stealthily making her way over to the object. Immediately her horn lit up green once again as she grasped the crown with her magic and lifted it up.
As she levitated the crown it bumped against the lamp that made its home on the nightstand, knocking it off. She reacted almost instantaneously and grasped the lamp in her magic, saving it before it hit the ground and blew her cover. She let out a silent sigh of relief as she levitated the lamp back to its proper place and put the crown in her bag.
She then levitated another, identical, crown out of her bag and placed it back in the exact same spot the original had been. Making sure that the rooms occupants hadn't awoken she made a hasty retreat towards the door only to trip over her hooves halfway there. She hit the ground with a loud thud, spewing out a few curses, "Damn hooves."
Upon hearing the thud Twilight and Spike were both roused from their slumber. Twilight sat up before groggily looking around for the source of the disturbance before her eyes landed on the figure and the familiar crown shape jutting out of her bags. "My crown!" she cried out in surprise, "She's got my crown!"
Upon hearing this the intruder let out another string of curses before dashing out of the room, closely followed by Twilight. "Stop!" Twilight yelled as she chased after her, "Thief! She's stolen my crown!" All five of Twilight's friends, who had poked their heads outside of their rooms to see what the commotion was, gasped loudly.
Twilight began to build up magic as she continued to give chase and, when the spell was ready, unleashed it, teleporting in front of the intruder. The intruder didn't slow down as her horn glowed green and at the last second she gripped her cape, tossed it at Twilight, and teleported past her.
Twilight tossed the cloak off her and turned around to give chase. As she rounded the corner she finally got a good look at the thief. She was a light orange unicorn that sported a dual colored mane of blazing red and mute yellow. On her back she carried a pair of black saddlebags and she could just make out the glint from a piece of metal attached to a cloth which was tied around her forehead.
As she looked back she realized that her pursuers were gaining on her, and at the rate things were going she wouldn't be able to make it before they caught her. "Damnit," she muttered under her breath, "I didn't want to have to do this but I guess I will." Twilight watched as she leaped into the air higher than she had seen anypony else jump.
In mid-air the mare twisted around to face them and spoke, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." With that she brought a hoof to her mouth and exhaled several small fireballs at them. Twilight's eyes widened at the impossible display before she realized she was in danger and leaped back to avoid the projectiles.
As they impacted the floor they exploded in a cloud of dust and shards. Rainbow Dash flew over and, with a few strong flaps of her wings, cleared the dust revealing an empty corridor and an open door at the end of the hallway. "Quick, let's go!" Twilight told them before galloping down the hall and into the room to find that the only thing the room contained was a large mirror.
"What?!" she exclaimed, "I don't understand, where did she go?!"
"And more importantly, who was that?" Applejack questioned as her friends also entered the room.
--
Twilight and her friends found themselves in the throne room facing the three princesses who stood on the throne. Twilight had just finished recounting her tale to them and was waiting for a response. Celestia was the first to speak, "I believe I know who the pony was that took your crown."
"Really? Who?" Twilight questioned.
"Sunset Shimmer, a former student of mine. She began her studies with me not long before Twilight. But when she did not get what she wanted as quickly as she had liked she turned cruel and dishonest. I tried to help her, but eventually she decided to abandon her studies and pursue her own path. One that has sadly led to her stealing your crown."
"Yeah, but she tried to replace Twilight's with this one." Spike spoke, holding out the fake crown.
"I suppose that Sunset Shimmer hoped that you wouldn't notice right away that this wasn't yours." Celestia told her, "And by the time you did it might already be too late to go after your crown and Element of Harmony."
"But I don't understand," Twilight said, "Where did she go?"
"I believe I have an answer for that as well." Celestia said, "You mentioned that she fled into a room containing a large mirror did you not?"
"Yes, well I think she did at least."
"You will soon know more about this place than even I do."
--
Princess Celestia had led everypony into the room containing the large mirror, and Twilight was currently waiting for an explanation. "This is no ordinary mirror," Princess Luna finally spoke up, "It is a gateway to another world. It has always been kept in Canterlot Castle, but when Cadance took over the Crystal Empire we sent it to her to look after."
"I had always hoped that Sunset Shimmer would someday use it to return," Princess Celestia spoke, "To come back to Equestria seeking my guidance. Obviously that is not what has happened."
"Twilight," Cadance said, catching her attention, "You must use the mirror to go into the other world and retrieve your crown. Without it the other Elements of Harmony are useless and Equestria is left without its most important means of defense."
"Your crown does not belong in the place that Sunset Shimmer now calls home," Princess Luna spoke again, "In the posession of Sunset Shimmer your Element of Harmony will no doubt be used to bring harm to the inhabitants of this other world."
"Do you understand the importance of your task?" Celestia questioned, levitating a set of saddlebags to Twilight.
"Of course."
"Good, then you must go at once."
"Woah, woah, woah," Dash's voice sounded from behind them, "If she's going then we're going with her."
"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash but I cannot let you go," Celestia interjected, "Sending all of you could upset the balance of this alternate world. And in doing so it could cause havoc which would make it near impossible for Twilight to get her crown back. This is something that Twilight has to do alone."
"Alright, I'm ready." With that Twilight stepped into the mirror.
--
"Ugh." Twilight let out a groan as she found herself floating back to conciseness, "What happened?" She tentatively reached up with her hoof to rub her head when she felt something strange. Instead of the regular, rough, furry sensation she felt something fleshy press against her forehead. Slowly she brought her hoof down to look at it, and found herself staring at a strange new hairless appendage that split off into five digits.
Twilight turned her eyes downwards to examine her own body, and upon finding it had changed did the only reasonable thing she could.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
