Twinning Isn't Everything

It was another beautiful day in Ponyville, the birds chirping, the green grass, and the :-risen sun was up and about. The ponies in town were bustling in the streets and the little fillies and colts were playing amongst one another. Everything was turning out for the best for everypony with smiles on their faces and the gracious galloping, indicating their positive attitude as well. The day seemed to be almost like any other in Ponyville.

I remember when I moved into Ponyville from Baltimare a couple of months ago. Baltimare was great and all, don't get me wrong, but I was running low on bits and couldn't afford the bills for my house, so when me and my brother saw the newspaper, "Equestria Daily," we saw an advertisement for Ponyville residencies, and that's when we found our solution. We moved to Ponyville thinking it would be anything like the newspaper said it would, but it was even better than what we read. The town had to offer friendly service and a lot of ponies to make friends with. One of my first friends me and my brother made was a pegasus named Fluttershy. She seemed to be pretty shy, but we became friends when she saved us from a Manticore that we encountered in the Everfree Forest. If it weren't for my brother's thrill for adventure, we wouldn't have met Fluttershy at all. We have some other friends here in Ponyville, but there's something about her that wants me to be by her side whenever she needs me to be or something like that. It was late at night when me and my brother decided to go to the Everfree Forest to spend some one on one time with one another.

"You're an idiot, Astro!" I exclaimed. "You're gonna get us killed!"

"Aw, come on now Cosmo," my brother, Astro, began to protest. "Lighten up, I thought you'd be more like me. We are twins after all."

We are, in fact, fraternal twins. We're both unicorns with the same indigo coat and the same dark red mane but with different genders as well as personalities. Astro's a adventure-seeking stallion and I'm a mare who likes to stay in her shell. We may look the same, but inside, we were complete opposites.

"Just because we're twins, doesn't mean we're the same pony," I said. "Why and how did I even get dragged into this?"

"Because you got nopony else to hang out with," Astro answered. "C'mon Cosmo, it's not so bad once you forget about the monsters and all."

"Don't remind me," I stated. "You nearly got us killed by that Manticore a week ago. We got lucky Fluttershy came to our rescue."

"You know, it's weird," Astro said, going off topic. "How does a pony who's fragile as thin ice manage to stand up to a creature so intimidating like that?"

"Whatever Astro," I said with annoyance. "Where are we anyway?"

"I...don't know," Astro admitted. "I'd use my magic, but I drained all of it when I hypnotized you into coming into the forest with me."

"Okay then, I'll...wait, you did what?" I replied with annoyance, then surprise. "Nevermind, I guess I'll provide a light source. Once we get out of here, I want some answers."

I used my magic to provide a light source to see where we were in the forest. Once we knew where we were, we also noticed we were surrounded by a horde of timberwolves. I had no idea as to whether I should not move an inch or run for my life. Astro on the other hand already made his decision as I immediately notice his absence. I decided to run as well to see where he went and to get away from the Timberwolves.

"Astro!" I called out. "Astro! Where are you?" Then I stopped to see if he was nearby. "Astro! Please, say something!...Ha ha, very funny, you can come out now! You're kinda scaring me!" Then I saw another timberwolf, which caused me to flee. I ran wherever the path would take me, but it felt like nothing but a bunch of twists and turns, like an endless maze.

Eventually I saw a little bit of light, indicating I was almost out of the forest. When I came out of the entrance to the forest I was panting real heavily and noticed the timberwolves stopped following me.

"Hi Cosmo," Fluttershy said as quiet as possible.

The whisper was just enough to startle me as my mane and tail stood straight up. Then I yelled, "Fluttershy, don't startle me like that!"

"Oh, sorry," Fluttershy apologized in the same quiet tone.

"Well, it's nice to see a familiar face at least," I said. "I think my brother's still in the forest. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going back in there. Fluttershy, would you mind coming with me?"

"Anything for a friend," Fluttershy replied.

"Alright then," I said. "Let's go find Astro." Then we went to look some more in the forest.

"Cosmo!" I called out. "Cosmo! I know how annoyed you can get with me, but I know you're not that stupid to just leave me alone. Cosmo!" No matter how much I yelled, it wouldn't get her attention. It would also attract the attention of the timberwolves. This situation really made me wish I hadn't used my magic to manipulate her to lighten up a bit; I felt completely drained.

All of the sudden, I felt something, something alive that grabbed me. It felt like another pony and I hoped that it was Cosmo coming back for me. "Cosmo? Is that you?" I asked as Cosmo gave no response. She then dragged me by my tail using their magic. "Look, I know you're probably mad at me for bringing you out here, but I just thought you could use a little bit more adventure. I mean you're a great mare and all, but you need to learn to be a little more risky. I'm sorry for doing this, and I promise never to do it again." She still didn't give me a response. I assumed Cosmo was giving me the silent treatment. "Really? The silent treatment? Don't you think that's a little childish?" She was still giving me complete silence as she continued dragging me through the forest. Eventually we had found a way out only to realize the pony that was dragging me the whole way there wasn't Cosmo. "Hey Cosmo, I think you found an exit. Now we can...oh no! Not you! Not..." I was then cut off as the unicorn knocked me out using her magic.

I reentered the forest to find my brother, and the search wasn't as successful as I hoped it would be. But I didn't give up; me and Fluttershy continued to look for Astro even if it took the whole night, or so I thought. Finding Astro turned out to be easier said than done.

"Cosmo," Fluttershy started. "Maybe we should head back to the cottage. I'm getting really tired."

As much as I wanted to keep looking for Astro, I knew I would die trying, literally. "Yeah, I guess we should head back. Maybe Astro's found his way out. He might be at the cottage as we speak." We then found our way out of the forest and went to Fluttershy's cottage for a little R & R. I discovered that Astro was not in the cottage, but that didn't mean that he was still in the Everfree. I kept thinking that he's not a quitter and that he found his way out. I was about to go to sleep, but before I did, I needed to know some information from Fluttershy. So I trotted over to her room and knocked on her door.

"Fluttershy," I whispered. "Are you asleep?"

"No, I was just getting ready to get some rest," Fluttershy answered.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her.

"Sure," Fluttershy.

I then walked into her room and sat on her bed. She joined me on the bed when I was about to ask, "You remember that time you saved us from that Manticore, right?"

"How could I forget?" Fluttershy responded. "I couldn't let that innocent creature harm a pony as helpless as you."

"Well, you got the last part right." I commented. "But anyways, back to what I came in here for." I hesitated, worrying that she'd see me and Astro much more differently if I asked her. I knew that her opinion meant much to me and that I had to know what she was thinking. Then I continued, "What...What exactly was your first impression of me?"

"Well, when I first saw you, you looked like you needed help," Fluttershy answered.

"What about after the rescue mission?" I added. "Who do I look like based on my outside appearence?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Fluttershy started as I prepared for the worst of what she was going to say. "I think you're a really smart and kind mare and all, but you look like you're a little judgmental and a know-it-all."

"Oh," I started.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy apologized. "I didn't mean..."

"It's okay, don't be sorry," I said. "I thought that you'd say that I was an introvert and that I would never be like anypony else."

"That's because everypony's different and special," Fluttershy said, making me feel better. "It's okay to be yourself. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm an introvert myself, why  do think I'm named Fluttershy?"

"Fair enough," I said. "Well, that's all I wanted to know. Good night, Fluttershy."

"Good night, Cosmo," Fluttershy responded back.

I woke up in a dark, empty room. The last thing I remember was being dragged around in the forest by who I thought was Cosmo turned out to be somepony else.

"Ah, you woke up finally. The Great and Powerful Trixie was getting rather impatient," said the unicorn.

"Let me go," I demanded. "This is not cool."

"Trixie shall set you free, but only after she gets what she wants," Trixie replied.

"Whatever it is you want I'm emptyhoofed. I'm no use for you," I said, hoping she'd fall for it.

"Oh, Trixie thinks you are," she responded. "It's not exactly something that can be acquired, but something you're born with."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I claimed.

"You stupid, naive stallion," Trixie said. "Trixie's talking about your magic."

"Why do you need my magic?" I asked.

"That is none of your concern," Trixie responded. "Trixie just needs your magic, it's as simple as that."

"Well, I hate to break it to you," I started. "But my magic is completely drained. I have no magic left in me."

"Do you honestly expect Trixie to fall for that?" Trixie said. "Unicorns regenerate there magic every few minutes whenever it is being overused, you imbecile."

"What?" I said. feeling dumbfounded.

"Maybe you're not as useful as Trixie thought you were," Trixie stated. "But we'll find out pretty soon, won't we?"

"Wait!" I interrupted while she started to drain my magic. "Why me? Why am I so important? Why not my sister?" I stopped right there thinking that I've said too much.

"Your sister?" Trixie asked. "Where is she?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you that," I responded.

"Very well. Enjoy a painful, miserable, magic-free life," Trixie said, continuing to drain my magic. This time, she made it more painful so that I could tell her what she wanted to know. The draining process made me scream in agony, for it was a slow, painful process. It felt like I had a major headache. I gave in after a couple of minutes.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you!" I exclaimed. "I...don't know where she is exactly, but we did get in through Fluttershy's cottage. Maybe she went back there."

"Thank you, that's all that Trixie needed to know," Trixie said as she walked off.

"Wait, what about me?" I asked.

"Don't you worry, Trixie will let you go as soon as Trixie gets what she wants," Trixie said. She shut the door, leaving me in complete darkness.

The next morning I woke up a little later than Fluttershy but in time to have breakfast. On the counter were celery sticks topped with peanut butter and raisins: a snack that I would've had when I was a little filly.

"Aww, that's adorable," I commented, looking at breakfast. "Reminds me of my early childhood."

"I thought of the idea when I met this one pony," Fluttershy said. "She escaped from her home and were apart from one another because they were being attacked by changelings."

"Oh yeah, the outbreak," I said. "I heard it was pretty brutal and that many ponies died from that event. So this mare, what happened to her?"

"She died in Vanhoover, but her sister is still alive," Fluttershy said.

While we were in the middle of the conversation, I began to feel a little light-headed, but I tried my best to disguise it. "How old was her sister? Is she a mare? A filly?"

"She's nine," Fluttershy answered. She then began to yawn. "Applejack is currently taking care of her."

"Are you okay?" I asked as I yawned too. "You sound a little tired."

"Yeah, a little," Fluttershy admitted. "You seem a little sleepy too."

I then admitted to being a bit groggy. "Yeah, I guess I am." I saw Fluttershy go to sleep and I wasn't far behind her.

Moments later, I woke up to see a unicorn in a blue coat and a lighter blue mane: it was Trixie. I also discovered that I was tied up as I tried to move my hooves around. "Don't struggle," said the unicorn. "You'll only make it worse."

"Astro!" I exclaimed as I first saw him. "What have you done to him?"

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Trixie said. "But he won't be until you both give Trixie what she wants."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Your magic," Trixie said. "And if you don't..." she then stopped to use her magic to create what looked like a portal. "...Trixie will send your brother far, far away."

"Don't do it, Cosmo!" Astro said. "She's just bluffing!"

"Am I?" she said. "Now, will you give me your magic or not?"

It took me a lot of thought of the possible outcomes. Trixie is capable of making herself look like a fool, but she does have more advanced magic than I do. In the end, I made my decision. "I can always find my brother again, so go ahead. He'll be back two seconds tops."

"Suit yourself," Trixie said as she pushed Astro through the portal.

"Cosmo!!!" Astro shouted for help as he went through the portal. I also realized that Trixie didn't close the portal just yet. I then tried to use my magic to teleport him back to his previous location, but for some reason, I couldn't.

"Why can't I..." I was about to ask as Trixie cut me off.

"You fool, Trixie made sure that Trixie's magic is the only magic that can be used within this specific area," Trixie explained. "Now, let's try this again." She then used her magic to drag another pony over to the portal. It was Fluttershy. "Give me your magic or you'll never see your friend ever again!" Trixie demanded.

I then realized what Trixie was capable of. That's when I gave in. "Don't!" I shouted. "I'll give up my magic."

"Smart choice," Trixie said as she drained my magic. It took a while to completely strip me of my magic. "Pleasure doing business with you, and now that you're no longer useful to me..." She stopped to put me through a portal away from Ponyville. "Farewell Cosmo!" she said as I fell through the portal. The trip through the portal made me black out minutes after I "travelled" through it.

Eventually I woke up and ended up somewhere that look very ancient with stone houses and buildings. Many ponies dressed like they were homeless or ready for battle. This new world I've been sent to brought up so many questions. But the biggest one was, "Where am I?"