Skylar knew about the mirror in her closet. She knew it was really a portal to Equestria. In fact, she was friends with the 6 ponies who discovered the Elements of Harmony after Princess Luna and Celestia. Unfortunately, Skylar could only go once at least every 7 days. She would usually pop in as many times as she could, and stay for a maximum of 24 hours.
Most of the time she would tell her parents that she was going shopping with her best friend, Hannah, then sneak back inside through the back gate. But today, Hannah was on vacation for Summer Break, and Skylar had already been gone for a month. Maybe she could get away with going to the store alone.
Skylar hopped down the stairs, then frowned.
"Where's Daddy?" she asked. Her mom looked up from the TV at her on the stairs, then back to the TV.
"Oh, he left for work." Skylar checked her watch. If it wasn't Summer Break, she'd already be an hour late for school.
"So, yeah, mom? Could I go to the store on my own since Hannah's away on her trip?" she asked hopefully. Now she was standing beside the couch. Her mom looked back at her.
"This early in the morning?" she asked suspiciously.
"Uh, yeah. There's an...early morning sale?" Skylar smiled nervously and raised her shoulders. Her mom can't resist sales. Skylar borrows money from her, so she's pretty sure she'll agree if there was a sale.
Her mom's eyes brightened. "Well, then, I guess it's fine with me. How will you get there, though? You're only 12."
"I can walk." her mom, who's name is Lynn, nods hesitantly and watches Skylar head out the front door before turning her attention back to the TV.
Skylar circles around the house to the backyard. She shuffles through her pocket in search of the keys. Her fingers slip into the ring and she pulls them out to open the gate.
After tiptoeing across the grass and cautiously opening the back door without a sound, she finally reaches her room and pulls open the closet door. There was the mirror, as beautiful as ever. The glass rippled and twisted.
She took a deep breath and stared at her twisted reflection. When she felt she was ready, she easily stepped into the mirror.
Skylar stepped out of the mirror on four legs. She was a pink unicorn with curly, turquoise hair in Equestria. She wasn't surprised that her 6 friends weren't there to greet her. She should've been here Saturdays ago!
She figured it would be best to go to Twilight's first. So, she walked to Princess Twilight's ginormous castle. On her way, other ponies greeted her, saying things like 'Hey, Sky, welcome back!' or 'We all missed you! Why were you gone so long?' Sky smiled and answered all the questions anyone threw at her.
Twilight's castle shimmered in the sunlight. Sky knocked on the door and the light purple alicorn peeked out. She was surprised to see Skylar.
"Oh, hey, Skylar! You haven't visited in a while! Come in!" the princess waved her friend in. "A lot happened since you were last here."
"Really? Well, sorry I was gone a month. I had to do a lot at the end of the school year." Sky explained. "So, what did I miss?"
"Do you remember Sunset Shimmer, the unicorn I told you about?"
"Yeah. Didn't you say she stole your crown?"
"Yes. Well, she's changed and she's going to join our little group." That's when an orange unicorn with fiery, red and yellow hair entered the room. Sky'd never seen Sunset for real before, and it surprised her.
Sunset seemed just as surprised to see her. "Oh, hi. You must be Skylar. Nice to meet you." she said, sounding almost shy.
"Yeah, hi." A moment of silence passed.
"Um, Twilight? S-sorry to bother you, but, um, I think I need your help with something...?" Sunset Shimmer smiled nervously and Twilight sighed.
"Did you mess up on that spell again?" she said, exasperated, but followed her into a room. "You can come, too, Sky." Skylar blinked, then went with them into the room.
It was a mess. The place was totally destroyed. Furniture, like beds and sofas, were black from being burnt, paper was on fire, and mirrors were shattered. What happened in here? Sky thought, looking around.
"When I tried to do that sun spell, it sort of exploded and set everything on fire." Sunset admitted. "Oops."
"Here, while I clean this up, why don't you two get acquainted?" Twilight asked. They both nodded, and left her to clean up the disaster.
"I hear you're from another world." Sunset commented.
"I hear you've visited one." Skylar replied. Sunset flinched. She hated it when that came up. It brought up too many dark memories. "Oh, sorry."
"It's fine. So, do you know Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity?" she tried to change the subject, even though she knew Sky obviously did.
"Mm, hm. They're the first ones I met when I got here." Skylar smiled. "What spell were you doing in there?"
"Oh." Sunset giggled. "I was trying to create a mini replica of the sun. Still haven't mastered it, though." Twilight walked in.
"All done." she said. They both stared at her. "What?"
"How'd you do that so fast?" Sky asked, amazed.
"It was easy. I just used a spell." Twily responded.
