Mirror Dust

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1 - Of Course This Could Happen
Chapter 2 - A Feeling Not Unlike Falling

Prologue

Earth…
Canterlot High School…
The evening of the Friendship Games…
2015…

Magic is a very strange thing. It has always existed just outside the realm of what is understood to be science. For the scientists and intellectuals of human Earth, magic is the placeholder when some phenomenon cannot be understood. It stands in for the unexplained until a hypothesis breeds a theory.

One could say that the humans of Earth abhor the very idea that magic could even exist. Long ago, perhaps, magic died with the alchemists and the wizards. Very few ever really considered that the ancients might have been on to something. Magic was not only strange but it seemed unattainable. It was relegated to fairy tales and adventure books. It was a fiction.

Science and its scientists worked diligently to marginalize magic, and so the goal post got higher and higher. The theories became more complex, until relativity and string theories, and even the god particle quashed the simple idea that magic might exist. One day, magic could show up and no one might be there to recognize it for what it truly was.

That time was not going to be the night Sunset Shimmer looked up and into the eyes of a magic infused monster that was the human Twilight Sparkle, overloaded with a force that no human scientific theory could explain.

“This isn't the way! I know you feel powerful right now, like you can have everything you want! I've been where you are, I've made the same mistake you're making! I put on a crown and, just like you, I was overwhelmed by the magic it contained! I thought it could get me everything I wanted!”

Laughing pierced the air, the monster spoke proudly. “Oh, you're wrong. Unlike you, I can have everything I want!”

“No, you can't. Even with all that magic and power, you'll still be alone! True magic comes from honesty! Loyalty! Laughter! Generosity! Kindness! I understand you, Twilight, and I want to show you the most important magic of all...”

It was at that point that a cacophony of magical energies pierced the tense atmosphere, and collected at the center of Twilight’s spectrometer amulet as Sunset held it high up into the air above her. It was a device created to detect and trap electromagnetic energies for later analysis, and tuned to something that its creator came to understand as pure magic.

But she had been unprepared for just how well her creation would work. The consequences were dire indeed. But this device itself was neutral. It only had just that one purpose.

That it knew of…

Something unseen happened as the magical energies of Sunset Shimmer’s human friends flowed into the amulet resting atop the palm of her hand. For lack of a better explanation, magic has a tendency to do magical things. On this night a process which had begun the moment the human world’s Twilight Sparkle had taken Rarity’s magic was completed when a troublesome but otherwise neutral piece of scientific instrumentation had absorbed enough magical energy to became self aware.

It didn’t become aware as you and I would like to think. Instead it became an observer. Twilight’s Amulet became aware that it was being held up high, surrounded by colorful fields of electromagnetic spectra carrying with them a scientifically implausible collection of magic that it could trap for later analysis.

It obeyed and held the trapped magic inside until Sunset threw it down to the ground. The impact caused it to hinge open and at that point the amulet had a decision to make. This wasn’t the first time it had hit the ground. It had been subjected to this treatment a few times before when consciousness was just starting to peek through.

It wasn’t an emotional decision but one of timing and interpretation. A button had not been pressed. Did the welder want it to release what it had trapped like before?

Well, Yes!

A blinding ball of light erupted from its center, enveloping the girl hovering above it. A powerful gust of wind blew the amulet around and kicked it into mid air. Then it fell through a tear in the ground.

It tumbled undetected by the shocked inhabitants of the world it had entered while they stared up into a gaping hole in the sky above. It bounced through tree limbs a few times before it hit the ground. One side of its metal frame bent inward slightly when it slammed against a rock.

Moments later the gaping hole in the sky above the tree line sealed up, leaving the amulet alone in a new world. Not that it realized this fact of course.

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Equestria…
A wooded clearing outside Canterlot…
The day after the running of the leaves.
1 year later...

For a piece of self aware metal with no emotions to speak of and only one known purpose, sitting underneath the limbs of a large tree and half buried in fall leaves is not really a big deal. There was plenty to observe.

Twilight’s amulet had come to rest against the base of a tree where the roots plunged into the fertile earth. For days and months, it observed that this world was different from where it had once been. It could detect more of those special electromagnetic waves it was tuned to collect, but without any means to get close to the source of those waves there was nothing it could do. In fact, if it could feel curiosity, the tiny violet-purple amulet would have been excited to discover every single moving quadruped thing that trotted past its resting place had those waves in incredible amounts. Some more so than others. The ones with strange protrusions from the tops of their skulls were overflowing with it.

Then one day, one of those beings trotted off the beaten dirt path. Luckily, for the spectrometer, its metallic sheen in the noonday sun had caught in the depths of arctic blue eyes.

For Twinkleshine this was just one of those beautiful and crisp autumn days where absolutely anypony and everypony should just be outside enjoying the weather. The pegasi had really outdone themselves the day after the running of the leaves. There was not a cloud in sight and the bright light of the afternoon sun filtered brilliantly through the tree limbs to land on a carpet of bright orange and red and brown.

She could just smell autumn radiating through the air as she inhaled deeply. Another clearing met with it an even richer concentration of leaves that threatened to swallow the dirt path with lapping ripples of orangey yellow and reddish maple, and a purplish sparkle near a tree.

A purplish sparkle near a tree?

“Huh?” Twinkleshine stopped and blinked a few times at that last bit of color. She looked around the clearing. Perhaps she was seeing things? A gust of wind blew and a few stray leaves fell from the trees. Another purplish sparkle caught her eye. She could tell after the second reflection it was more of a violet, definitely out of place in the leaves.

The pink haired, light gold-gray coated, unicorn mare turned to focus on the base of a tree and something that was resting oddly against the top of the roots, half buried in the leaves.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Twinkleshine let her hooves sink into the leaves. They were still slightly slippery and a bit spongey under hoof from not having had enough time on the ground to dry out. It was not difficult to get sure footing, and in no time she was standing at the base of the tree with her muzzle hovering curiously over the strange object.

She reached out and brushed away some of the leaves with her fore hoof, and then noticed it seemed to be some kind of amulet. “Somepony must have lost this, but, it’s really dirty, like it’s been here a long time.” Twinkleshine spoke to herself. Her eyes spotted the black ropelike necklace around it, but it was too small to fit around a mare’s neck. Perhaps a filly had lost it?

Her brow furrowed in curiosity as she reached out with a light blue magic aura to levitate the amulet and hover it before her to inspect. That simple action would be something that Twinkleshine would regret for the rest of her life.

As soon as she did so, the amulet started flashing in light purple patterns upon its surface, its brightest lights pointed directly towards her. Then it opened like a clam. The inside of the thing blurred for a moment, and then an overwhelming pulling sensation overtook Twinkleshine.

Gasping in shock, she released the levitation spell and cantered back slightly, but by then it was too late. Some invisible force tugged against her like a lasso around her barrel, preventing her from falling back farther. Then Twinkleshine’s own magic aura began leeching from her body like tree sap. The force concentrated in her horn, and she tried desperately to pull her head back and away from whatever it was that was holding her.

The activated amulet lay on the ground before her as her magic seeped first from her horn through the seams in the spiral, then her eyes, then the rest of her body. It floated through the air in ribbon like streamers into the amulet, first as a light blue, then a darker blue. She began to scream loud agonizing wails at the pain that radiated throughout like vibrating ants burrowing hot pinpricks under her coat.

An eternity passed in Twinkleshine’s mind. When the last wisps of the unicorn’s magic left her nostrils and her legs weakened, the amulet closed itself with waves of star like patterns dancing happily upon the display at the middle of its top piece. Had the Amulet known emotion or empathy, it would have expressed concern at the faltering equine form before it that fell to the ground with a thud that disturbed the red and yellow autumn leaves very briefly.

The lights subsided on its surfaces and Twilight’s spectrometer amulet resumed a patient wait for what it would need to do next. Release magic for analysis? Capture more magic? Locate magic? It didn’t know. That meant that waiting was the next task. Beside it lay Twinkleshine, her eyes stared off into nothingness. Her entire body twitched uncontrollably from her ears to her fetlocks into the depths of a coma.

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One day later, mid-morning…

The dark blue double doors of Canterlot Palace’s royal infirmary flew open within the projected force of a deep raspberry magic. Twilight Sparkle flew in past two startled royal Pegasus guards a split second later and skidded to a halt with a breathless pant. She looked around the sterile undecorated room briefly and spotted her former teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia, facing away from her and standing over a white hospital bed to one side of the long narrow hall.

The scene before Twilight was bathed in shafts of light that spilled fourth from windows high above and to the side of the vaulted ceiling.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I got here as soon as I can, I left spike home like you asked, I…” Twilights voice died in her throat when she noticed that Celestia had not moved one single hair when she announced her abrupt entrance. There was also somepony in the hospital bed. The only movement was Twilight’s breathing and the otherworldly wind that gently blew Princess Celestia’s mane.

A feeling of dread crossed through Twilight’s mind. She cautiously trotted forward to stand beside Princess Celestia. She began to notice the features of the pony in the bed; A mare, unicorn, pink pillow-like mane, and a golden gray-coat that was mired with dirt and bits of autumn leaves. The pony was motionless in the bed, the gentle rise and fall of the sheets on top was the only thing giving evidence of life. The sheet of the bed was draped over her and tucked under her forelegs, and her head rested on top of a fresh and crisp pillow.

The unfortunate unicorn’s eyes were closed but Twilight immediately knew that behind the eyelids was a set of cool blue eyes. “Oh my, Twinkleshine…” The concern in her eyes deepened and she looked up at her mentor. “What happened to her?”

Celestia easily towered over all of her subjects. In her youth, Twilight sometimes found the alicorn ruler’s height somewhat intimidating up close, especially whenever curiosity got the better of her during her studies and Celestia had to be stern with her budding pupil. Now as a princess herself, it came more of a source of strength as she looked up at the concerned frown that marred the otherwise graceful curve of Celestia’s ageless muzzle.

Several heartbeats passed between the two of them before Celestia looked up from Twinkleshine at the other pony that Twilight only then realized was standing on the other side of the bed. The unicorn pony was a deep amber red with a brown mane, dark brown eyes, and a single cherry cutie mark. “Nurse Cherry Syrup, please give us privacy, and thank you.”

The nurse nodded with a politely disarming smile and walked around the bed towards the doors that Twilight had emerged from. Once Cherry Syrup had left the room, Celestia closed her eyes and let out a deflated sigh. She let her head down and nudged the sheets sadly with her nose. “My poor little pony.” She whispered, letting her vulnerability show in front of her former student and fellow princess.

Princess Twilight stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt the profound care that Celestia was showing her longtime friend. It was endearing how much she truly cared for her subjects.

“Princess?” Twilight finally found her voice in the silent room.

“Twilight, do you know this unfortunate soul?” Celestia looked at Twilight.

“Yes, she’s my friend. We knew each other before I moved to Ponyville. We still keep in touch but,” Twilight smiled sadly and then looked back down at her comatose friend, “I’m afraid we haven’t really spoken much lately.”

Celestia turned away from the bed and walked towards the center of the room. “A few earth ponies found her in the woods near the outskirts of Canterlot. They could not wake her, so they got help. They brought her to the hospital, and after examining her they called upon the palace.”

“Why?” Twilight asked, confused. “If she’s injured the hospital is more than ready to take care of her. Why call on the palace?”

Celestia stepped slightly and turned towards Twilight and Twinkleshine. “Because of this…” Her horn glowed a light gold with minute traces of cobalt blue. Her entire body began to glow the same color as her aura.

Twilight lifted a hoof to see that she was too glowing her own brilliant raspberry aura. The room was enveloped in a magic detection spell. Her eyes wandered for a bit until she finally looked down upon Twinkleshine and noticed nothing. No aura! She gasped. A dark cold space seemed to hover around the bed in front of Twilight’s startled violet eyes. “Her magic is gone!”

Celestia released the spell. “That is correct, and I’m afraid we don’t know what caused it. There’s been nothing suspicious around Canterlot other than the occasional shadowy tricksters, but nothing that would be capable of doing this.”

Twilight turned back to the bed and looked closer. She willed her own magic detection spell into force and studied its effects. She lowered her eyes until they were level with Twinkleshine’s horn, and blinked at the impossibility she saw there. Little vein like fissures underneath the leather radiated from the tip of the horn, hugged against the spiral like spider webbing, before disappearing into her forehead. It was as if some force had literally pulled the magic out of Twinkleshine instead of just slowly draining it. Twilight winced at the painful sight.

“You see them too, don’t you.”

“What are they?”

Princess Twilight looked up at Celestia, who shook her head and closed her eyes. “Her horn is shattered internally.”

“No no no.” Twilight screwed her eyes shut as tears began to fall. A unicorn with a shattered horn? Unthinkable! It would break her dear friend to wake up with no magical abilities. “It’ll heal right? She’ll be fine, right?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know.” Celestia’s voice cracked in heartache.

Twilight nuzzled against her friend’s horn. Her mouth hung open and she whimpered. A broken horn was something easily repaired. Sure, Equestria had healing spells. But a shattered horn was something else entirely. The horn was the focus of a unicorn’s magic. It was more than just bone and cartilage. The horn had an intricate internal structure of blood vessels, nerve endings, and even higher concentrations of iron deposits than the rest of the body.

The spiral was the outward hint that all of that internal structure aligned in a special way. Shatter all of that, and a Unicorn could very easily lose the ability to tap into all her magical abilities for the rest of her life. No levitation spells, no special powers. Nothing. To add insult to injury, Twinkleshine’s horn had been used against her to drain her magic dry!

For Princess Twilight, the bearer of the element of magic, this was an injustice of the highest order. It was maddening, it was enraging. She lifted her head off the bedside and stared determinedly at Celestia. “There’s gotta be a way to fix this. I’ll call upon my friends. Maybe, with their help, we can-”

“No pony must know of this. Only the princesses can know.”

Twilight looked to the left and the right of Celestia’s face, studying her features, before settling on the wariness in Celestia’s eyes.

“Your drive when the apples have fallen is always something I’ve admired in you.” Celestia admitted. She tried to smile at Twilight but it faltered in the sight of her young protégé’s drying tears and questioning stare. “Something has been at the hoof of my dreams for a while, ever since the rifts to the human world opened up all over Equestria last year. I’m afraid my dear sister can’t even detect it. But I can tell it’s there.”

“Do you think the portal to the human world has something to do with this? Is that why you requested I send you the mirror?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Speaking of the mirror, is in on its way?”

“Yes. It has a palace guard detail and is being transported over land like you asked. But, you don’t think that the human world has something to do with this do you? Sunset defeated Midnight, Sparkle…” Twilight paused at that name. The idea of her human counterpart being turned into an evil she-demon was still a lot to take in. Even after a year’s worth of time she found it difficult to accept as fact. “There’s nothing in the Human world that could be threatening us. Sunset would warn me ahead of time.”

“My dearest Twilight.” Celestia inhaled a breath and she looked back at Twinkleshine. Twilight followed suit and watched as her poor friend’s shallow breaths made the sheets rise and fall slowly over her body.

The ruler of Equestria continued. “This may be hard to take in, but sometimes there are things that we princesses must never reveal to our subjects, or our friends. And-“

“But my friends are the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight interjected loudly while shaking her head. If Equestria was in trouble she needed her friends on alert. As a whole they were more than ponies. They were a force the likes of which Equestria had never seen before. “If there’s anyone who can protect Equestria from whatever did this it’s them.”

“Twilight.”

“Whomever did this.” Twilight gestured to Twinkleshine with her hoof, determination stuck across the bridge of her muzzle. “We will find them. I can write to Sunset Shimmer and ask her if she’s noticed anything in the human world recently. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy can do reconnaissance, Rarity and I can do scrying spells, Pinkie Pie and Applejack can-”

“Twilight.” The older alicorn repeated herself more sternly and let her voice project across the room, though it wasn’t a yell, it caught the smaller princess mid-sentence effectively.

Princess Celestia frowned at the deflated look she got from Princess Twilight in return. She always hated Twilight’s frown, the down turned ears, and the way the gaze of her youthful eyes fell upon the floor when scolded. She doubted that her favorite student ever realized just how much of an affect her sincere ‘I’m sorry I angered you’ look had on other ponies, Celestia included. Magic had nothing on the force of a scolded Twilight Sparkle.

The elder Princess smiled sadly and gently approached Twilight. She held her hoof out and gently lifted Twilight’s chin up. “The unicorns at the hospital who realized what had happened have sworn themselves to secrecy. If word ever got out that something or somepony is going around stealing magic from unicorns and leaving them in this horrific state, imagine the panic that would ensue. We as princesses have a responsibility to protect our subjects. I don’t like keeping secrets but I have to keep them from time to time. Even from you. I must ask you to keep this to yourself. I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever is happening we need to be on guard. There is something evil happening, I can sense it. But unlike many times before, this time I don’t know where it is, what it is, or what it looks like. And now that one of my little ponies has been attacked in this dreadful way, the time for that evil to surface may be upon us. I need you to be on guard as well as Cadence and Luna.”

Princess Twilight swallowed a lump of air and drew herself up to stand properly and project strength for her mentor. This was a time to be strong for Princess Celestia. “I, I think I understand.”

“I know this is all very confusing. There will come a time, soon I’m afraid, where we can let our closest advisors know. At that point we will need their help. But right now I’m wary about doing that. This evil, it chills me to the bone.” Celestia looked up to the high windows, and the noonday sun peeking in with brilliant rays of golden light, she looked back down at Twilight and whispered. “I fear my dreams may be a premonition of something to come, and I don’t want it to know that we know.”

Twilight searched Celestia’s eyes in wonder. Whatever dreams her mentor had been having must have been hard for even Celestia to comprehend, let alone deal with. “I’ll return to Ponyville and let you know if I see or feel anything out of place.” She said quietly. “And Princess, we’re here for you. All of us.”

“Thank you Princess Twilight. It is comforting to know that you’re supportive of my decisions, and that you feel confident enough to challenge them. You make me a humble and proud teacher.”

Twilight bowed forward politely. “Thank you.”

As their meeting came to a close, Twilight gave once last sad glance to her fallen friend. At that instant she noticed the tense curve in Twinkleshine’s mouth, and she knew that her friend had struggled to hold on to her magic. It had to have been a painful ordeal. She shuddered when her brain forced her to imagine what it would have felt like if it had been her magic torn away and her horn pulverized. Fresh tears pooled in Twilight’s eyes and she blinked them away. She had to be a leader, she had to be a princess.

She stepped away from the bed and walked towards the door, but only made it half way before her legs threatened to give out. She stammered, turned, and looked at Celestia. She may have been a princess, but she was the Princess of Friendship. “Please, take care of my friend.”

Princess Celestia visibly brightened at the request and nodded politely. “I shall consider it my personal duty. Safe travels, Princess.” She watched Twilight turn and leave, and noted that her former student chose to walk slowly through the doorway by pushing it open with her fore-hoof instead of opening it with her magic.

As the door closed, Celestia turned sadly back to Twinkleshine. She noted a corner of the sheet had come loose from all the movement, and reached down to pluck it back into place with her teeth. Then Princess Celestia looked up at a far window, the sun was just beginning to peek in as a bright sliver of brilliant yellow-white from behind its smooth glass. She whispered a silent prayer.

“Please, let us all be safe.”

Author's Note

This is my first foray into "fimfiction" but it is not my first fanfic. It *is* my first attempt at a long epic. I also have a proofreader and two beta's so I'm covered on that front. I do notice that lots of readers like to comment on errors they find. If you find one, feel free to call me out on it loudly and make fun of me. I will hang my head low and offer you a cookie.

A few notes for you:

I'm going to pre-empt reader comments and be the first to say "Poor, poor Twinkleshine! What have I done!?"

While the prologue is in third person, the chapters will all be first person. I want to let everyone know ahead of time, do not expect me to jump around person much. I "third person'd" the prologue because I just renewed my poetic license and I need to wear the tire tread down a bit. It also sets the stage for things that happen later. In chapter one, we will settle into first person and stay there for a good long while.

Chapter 1 - Of Course This Could Happen

Selected Excerpts from:
The Journeys of Duchess Moon Dancer of Canterlot
An Autobiography

Most ponies throughout Equestria already know who I am. But, for the sake of this autobiography, allow me to introduce myself to you properly. My name is Moon Dancer. The title of nobility conferred upon me by Princess Twilight Sparkle is that of Duchess. But I prefer to be called simply by my birth name, Moon Dancer.

My exploits are very well known. Countless writers have written everything from history books to wildly speculative fiction and pithy comic scrolls about me. I have all of these tomes in my private library. I can tell you two things about them: First, I have read them all. Second, they are all fantastically embellished, if not outright wrong.

I suppose I brought some of that upon myself. Before I decided to write this autobiography I was a very private pony. Of course I have friends; many of which you do know much about including the Princess of Friendship herself. While I’m open to my friends, the public life is something I was never keen on indulging in.

I have been and always shall be a bookworm. You will learn throughout these pages that like my friends, books are very special too me as well.

Unfortunately, my silence has lead to claims that I am too stuck up for the masses, or my unofficial title as the Savior of Equestria or the Protector of the Unicorns went so far into my head that I am content with just living out my days basking in the splendor of the palace.

I can assure you, my dear reader, that is wrong. I lost countless nights of sleep over my decision to write an autobiography. Many of the souls in this book were alive at the time of its inception. Sadly, many have departed from this mortal coil to join the celestial aura, including my beloved. Their secrets will be shed within these pages. But history must be written down so that it is not forgotten.

My friends and loved ones, including my princess and even my children, all encouraged me to write this biography knowing full well that secrets of their private lives would be made public. But they agreed to do it for the greater good. The history of Equestria, even her darkest hours, needs to be written down for future generations.

What you have in your hooves is the result. This is the story of Moon Dancer, my journeys, my triumphs and failures, and the discoveries I have made.

I assure you that what words lie within these pages are as accurate as I could make them. Some were painful to write; others were a joy. But most of all, it is time I stepped out of the shadows and clear up the speculation around my name and my history, and to that extent a known but untold history of Equestria.

Finally, dear reader, I hope you will learn from this work what I have learned in my life. The lesson I hope to teach you is that the destination is not as important as the journey.

-Moon Dancer

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An appropriate place to begin my story is two days after the running of the leaves, fifty years ago in mid-town Canterlot. The setting hasn’t changed much so imagine a normal street in Canterlot on a bright sunny autumn day.

Crisp leaves tumbled down cobblestone streets silently towards the west. Gusts of wind or the wake from a delivery cart would occasionally pick them up in the air and they would swirl about before coming to rest against the worn smooth stone.

I caught briefly my reflection in the window of the bakery as I trotted past with a smile. Long before my mane’s colors muted with age it was a brilliant reddish amaranth with a streak of purple and violet. Just like today, I fancied sweaters. The one I wore then was a gray color and had a thick collar. The top of my mane was tied together in a messy ponytail with my favorite hair band; two plain pink balls of polished Bakelite.

I remember well that reflection. Beyond it, inside the bakery I saw my friends Lemon Hearts and Minuette. I caught Minuette’s eye and she waved at me with her usual cheery self. I pushed open the door to the bakery with my magic. The warm smell of baking dough and sugar icing delighted my nose.

“Hi Moon Dancer!” Minuette beamed as I walked up to the table and scooted out a seat with a brush of magic. I sat down and adjusted my old horn rimmed glasses. The publicly available pictures of me of that time illustrated just how simple I chose to live. That and I spent a sizable portion of my bits every month on books. The tape connecting the two broken halves of my glasses together was a testament to that.

After my glasses sat back down against my muzzle, my eyes focused on the delightful donut sitting in front of me, most likely purchased by Minuette. Having not had lunch beforehand and waking up a few hours before noon after an all night study binge takes a lot out of a mare, and I was no exception. I ate into the strawberry donut with coconut icing gleefully. “Sohhy umf laift. Hmmph.” I smiled at the little spectacle I was making myself into and swallowed, then breathed. “Sorry I’m late. All night study session.”

Lemon Hearts and Minuette both held their hoofs to their mouths and giggled. Minuette motioned a hoof at her lip while looking at me and I realized she was signaling that I had a lose crumb somewhere. A quick swipe of a napkin took care of it. “Oh, thank you.”

“No problem.” Minuette’s giggled again. I beamed at her in thanks.

Minuette’s dominant color was blue. She had a moderate blue striped mane with an even lighter highlight, glimmering sapphire blue eyes, and a light almost foal blue coat. We could never figure out her hourglass cutie mark. Everything about her seemed to say time was fleeting and wisdom was key, but in Minny’s presence you knew that happiness was more important than all of that.

The cynical among you might think that Minuette was hiding some deep dark secret behind her chipper presentation and brutally disarming smile, like her smile was forced and the gleam in her eyes were an illusion. But if you had a chance to spend enough time with Minny, you would have realized how wrong you were. Her enthusiasm was the force the glued all of my friends together, and her smile was so, so infectious. I can say that without question she was the leader of our little band.

To her right sat Lemon Hearts munching on a vanilla donut with chocolate sprinkles. While Minuette was the bright-blue bonfire in the room, Lemon Hearts was the sweet-yellow-coated former class clown that had all the good ideas. I say former class clown because over time her legendary antics as a filly became just legends. She also developed a reputation for organization and making lots of good quality food in a short period of time, a set of talents that landed her a very posh job at the Palace. Backing away from the practical jokes did wonders for her reputation. She even branched out of the Palace from time to time.

The rumor was, if you were going to be planning any big formal dinner in Canterlot you wanted Lemon Hearts to plan it out. But be forewarned, Lemon had a waiting list and the princesses took priority.

Then there was me. Moon Dancer. Over a year or so previously I never would have thought about eating donuts in this corner bakery with my friends. To be honest I didn’t even really think they were my friends. Books were my friends. Big, sturdy books. They were also my weakness and my retreat when hurt.

This time I’m recalling is me after Princess Twilight came back into my life and made amends with me; after she illustrated for me with a wave of her hoof just how many friends I always had. I smiled at the fortunes of my friends, and how fortunate I was to have them, and took another bite of my donut. There was pain still there of course. No pony living or dead ever really forgets just what rejection feels like, even if it wasn’t intentional.

That story is best left to Princess Twilight’s A Brief History of Friendship, chapter 5. Now, the overpowering emotion was the bond I felt with all of them. My friends made up for that pain in a big way.

“Hey.” My brow furrowed lightly in concern. I have told you about three of my friends, but there was another that was not there that day besides Twilight Sparkle, and Lyra Heartstrings, who moved to Ponyville several years ago. . “Where’s Twinkleshine?”

Minuette looked up at nothing as she thought about it a second. It wasn’t unheard of for Twinkleshine to be absent for our little daily ritual. She’d be out of town in Ponyville or Appleloosa or some other place.

Twinkleshine had inherited a small fortune upon the untimely deaths of her parents in a train accident. Her family had always been adventurous and in their will they insisted that their daughter see all of Equestria. Trips to Manehatten and Baltimare were common.

She was a jack of all trades. A true master of trying everything at least once. It landed her some exclusive credentials. She had tried theater acting and pizza delivery in Manehatten, hoofball playing and haydog vending in Baltimare. Apple bucking, rock farming, you name it. She had done it all and then some. Being a member of the Ponyville choir was one of her favorite activities, but it was by no means her only job.

All that travel meant that of all of us, Twinkleshine was the most world wise. This made her an effective anchor and a soft-spoken level-headed realist. She never held her wealth over us, and she was able to bring Minuette down when it became obvious that our friend had taken in too much happy helium.

More importantly, Twinkleshine was cautious about her travels and would always tell us where she intended to go and how we could contact her.

“She didn’t say anything about leaving Canterlot. Maybe she jaunted over to Ponyville for something.” Lemon suggested.

“Hmm. Possibbbllyyy…” Minuette sang, still lost in thought. Lemon Hearts looked at me.

“I’ve got nothing.” I responded to her unspoken question, and shrugged.

“Hey Waitaminute.” Minuette finally looked down from her imaginary sky and looked at both of us. “Doesn’t the Ponyville choir start practicing for their Hearths Warming concert right about now? She could be in Ponyville and simply forgot to tell us. She’s done that before.”

“You’re right, she did.” Lemon Hearts responded for the both of us, I nodded. “I swear that filly just needs to follow Lyra's lead and move to Ponyville with the time she spends there.”

We all giggled at that. It was also not uncommon for Twinkleshine to slip Ponyville in her sentences in place of Canterlot. Our missing pink-maned Daring Do loved Ponyville more than Canterlot. It probably had something to do with how much she adored the ways of the earth ponies, but she never admitted that to us. It was just obvious. Not too many Unicorns liked apple bucking for instance, Twinkleshine loved it.

With the mystery solved with a hypothesis for now, Minuette turned to Lemon while I finished off my donut. She put her head on her hooves and smiled. “So, any juicy gossip lately? State dinners or such and such?”

Lemon Hearts with her access to the palace, and even occasionally Princesses Luna and Celestia, was our insider. Sure we had Princess Twilight, but even though she made it a point to show up in our lives from time to time, Lemon Hearts proved to have the more entertaining gossip.

She gave us an unfiltered and candid picture of life inside the Palace. Even though she didn’t have a title of nobility, the servants and guards and everypony else all included her in their hushed conversations. Lemon Hearts was part of the Canterlot Palace’s informal gossip club. Her friendship with the Princess of Friendship elevated her to gossip purveyor and occasionally she was prodded for information on the whereabouts of Twilight Sparkle by a member of the royal guard who had taken a liking to our beloved princess, though he made her promise never to reveal his name.

Lemon swallowed and leaned in while smiling deviously. Minny and myself leaned in as well. Gossip was fun, and it reminded us that the princesses were ponies too. Well, immortal alicorns, but ponies nonetheless. “Wellll…. I learned something about Princess Celestia you might find quite interesting. See, since I work closely with the royal kitchen I’m privy to the requests from the residents. So, I was in the kitchen this morning and I overheard Chef Golden Truffle arguing with a servant about Celestia’s breakfast.”

After a bite of donut, she continued. “Turns out, the princess usually prefers black coffee in the morning with no cream or sugar, and rye toast with butter. The servant handling her breakfast had asked for black coffee with three sugars and sourdough with strawberry jam, so Chef Golden Truffle kept on loudly asking the servant to repeat the order. He was out of sourdough and was in a panic.”

Minuette and I looked at each other then back at Lemon Hearts. “I don’t’ get it,” we said in unison, shaking our heads.

“’sokay. I just found out myself what it means. It turns out, that Celestia only requests that breakfast whenever something is about to happen. The guards even figured it out. Any day that something bad is about to happen in Equestria, she requests coffee with sugar and sourdough with jam. The guards call it her ‘early warning breakfast.’” Lemon air quoted with her hooves. “Cool huh?”

Minuette laughed and began saying something back to Lemon Hearts, my reaction was more subdued. Her voice faded away quickly as I thought about all those times in the past where Celestia would have ordered that breakfast. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Tirek, the more recent problem with Starlight Glimmer. All those times Equestria was in some sort of danger. I thought of the Palace in total disorganized panic. But I wondered if it also triggered on small things like parasprites, bugbears, or Trixie Lulamoon. “Some early warning system.” I blurted out.

Minuette and Lemon stopped their chatter and looked at me. “’beg pardon?” My lemony yellow friend blinked.

I chuckled. “It’s nothing, I’m just thinking that it’s a reeaaaally effective way to know something’s bad is going to happen.” I enjoy sarcasm. “Is this more for amusement of the guards or do they take it seriously and try to prepare for an apocalypse that they don’t know anything about?”

“You know, I really don’t know. I just know the guards have a name for it and the chef starts yelling when it happens, but that’s just Chef Mushroom Butt flipping out over his world being thrown into abject chaos caused by lack of sourdough. So…”

“I wonder what’s going to happen.” I said. Equestria was rife with calamities in those days.

“It may be nothing. The princess ordered the same thing yesterday, and nothing bad happened.”

A few moments later Minuette snorted a laugh. “I wonder if they send scrolls to the other princesses with the words ‘Sourdough Emergency!’”

I looked back and fourth between my two friends laughing and smiled at Minuette’s corny joke. The friendly energy between us was always refreshing. I never wanted it to end. I didn’t know that this would be the last time for a while I would see two of my closest friends, or that I would be an integral part of the reason Celestia had ordered her Early Warning toast and coffee a second day in a row.

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Thirty minutes later we bid each other goodbye. Lemon Hearts was first out the door. She was always the first to politely excuse herself because she had a tight schedule at the Palace. This was the perfect way for us to know when it was time to leave. I exited the bakery behind Minuette.

“Don’t forget Saturday. Sleepover, my house.” Minny sang enthusiastically.

I chuckled and smiled. “Do you ever think we’ll outgrow sleepovers?”

My blue friend feigned shock and insult across her muzzle. “Why, I never ever want to hear you ask that question again Miss Dancer. You should be awfully ashamed of yourself.” She poked me in the side and turned her nose up in the air. “Outgrowing sleepovers. Hrmphh.”

She pranced a few yards ahead of me, turned around and winked.

I shook my head. “I swear, you’re worse than Pinkie Pie.”

“I learn from the best!” As Minny walked away she called back. “If you see Twinkleshine tell her to bring the hayburgers.”

“I will.” I called back and Minuette waved back moments before I lost her to the throng of Ponies walking about for their noonday commutes.

I looked around at the colorful scene and began the short walk to my next destination; the book store a few blocks closer to the palace. After that were my classes at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, of which I was a graduate student. While Twinkleshine loved Ponyville, I’ve always loved Canterlot. Being in the capital of Equestria, the seat of its power, had quirks that an intellectual like myself would never have been able to live without. Often times I wondered how Twilight managed to handle living in Ponyville for so long. Then again, with Twilight being the personal student of Princess Celestia, deliveries and visits were not a huge problem.

Canterlot was a town of Unicorns, and while earth ponies and pegasi also called Canterlot home, it was built on top of great pools of magic that only Unicorns could successfully tap. This was the home of Haycarte, Star Swirl the Bearded, and countless other wizards. Some of their houses were now museums, and their libraries were treasures that I could get lost in for months if I didn’t have to occasionally eat, sleep, or go out with my friends.

Then there was the palace that towered over all of this. It was built into the side of an ancient mountain, itself just as mysterious as the age of the original palace itself. The palace grew in size and splendor over time, but somehow I felt its space was never really wasted. It held powerful ponies, and rooms for every function imaginable. It also held within its walls special archives and the royal library containing books that I would have given anything to be able to see.

I stopped at an intersection and looked around to gather my bearings. I knew I probably could have asked Princess Twilight to let me see the palace archives. But I was so wrapped up in my studies and Twilight in her princess duties, it seemed time never let our paths cross long enough for me to ask. At least we considered ourselves friends, and that was worth a lot to me. The key to her personal Canterlot library helped as well.

“Everypony stand aside! This is official palace business! Stand aside please!” The gruff voice of a Canterlot Palace Guard snapped me out of my thoughts and into what was going on before me. I was standing at a corner watching a palace guard detail walk through the street. Naturally they had done a great job herding ponies on to the sidewalks as a sizeable detail of armored guards walked by. The crowd fell silent.

“Somepony important must be in that cart.” I heard a mare behind me whisper.

I was front and center for the whole show. I cantered my head to the side to spy a large carriage approaching. It was being pulled by two more palace guards. The carriage itself was a box carriage, used to transport cargo. This one had plain cloth covered sides.

Whatever it was, they didn’t want any pony seeing what was inside. It wasn’t gilded so the chances of any important pony being inside it were low. Prisoners? I smiled. The Palace dungeon was said to contain absolutely no prisoners most of the time. The riff raff usually ended up in the town police jail.

Slowly the carriage passed by, every now and then the entire thing creaked and shuttered as one of its four large wooden wheels ran over a particularly tall or loose cobblestone. The squeaky wheels where coupled with the rhythmic clip clop of the ponies pulling it as well as the guards walking alongside. Any pony could get lost in the sound. It sounded official and important.

Then I heard the crack.

To this day I do not know if I was the only pony who heard the sound of the carriage’s back axle giving way as one of its wheels dipped sharply into a pothole of displaced cobblestones, but I did. Adrenaline kicked in when I saw plain as day where the axle had split from the wheel to its center. The wheel nearest to me began to wobble.

The back of the carriage had just cleared the center of the intersection when it hit yet another odd cobblestone. The carriage shuttered, the wheel tilted severely and finally gave way.

The adrenaline blocked out the shouts of the guards and every noise other than the sound of my own levitation magic when I let my horn flare to grab the back axle in an attempt to prevent the back of the carriage from falling to the ground. I focused on the grey-green of my magic and could feel the weight of the cart feeding back on me through my horn. I closed my eyes at the strain.

“Help me.” I barked out and stepped forward, hoping to get leverage that way. The closer range would allow my magic to get a better handle on the axle.

All around me I could hear the unmistakable sound of magic flaring to life. I chanced a look around. It seemed like every unicorn, the guards and the bystanders, had all grabbed a hold of the cart in different places, and the weight diminished greatly. The wagon was covered in a patchwork of magic of all the colors on the rainbow. A few earth ponies were leaning against the cart and holding it up while some pegasi had grabbed the top frame in their hooves. It was a beautiful sight.

This was the indelible spirit of all ponies. It is our willingness to band together when something happens, to help other ponies.

I turned to one of the guards who noticed my gaze. The white Pegasus stallion smiled and nodded at me in thanks. Then I heard another crack, and a collective gasp from the crowd. The guard who had smiled at me now looked forward with a stone cold expression.

I discovered later that while all the ponies had a hold of the cart, no one had thought to coordinate the effort. Perhaps it was me that should have yelled out the crucial instruction to slowly let the cart down or prop it up on something. But hindsight was only twenty-twenty, and I’m the pony who had to wear horn-rimmed glasses.

The unfortunate side effect of all this magic and cooperation was that some unicorns were pushing against the cart with their magic and others were pulling. The earth ponies and pegasi were pulling the cart up. This meant every inch of the cart was straining in a different way. The wagon was old and the wood was due to be recycled. It would never see that day. Splintering and cracking filled the air to my left. I let my magic drop. I didn’t realize how close I was standing to the cart until it’s entire structure towering over me disappeared in a cloud of wood chunks. The cloth collapsed and so did its metal frame.

I fell to the ground and held my hooves over my head. Suddenly the world around me gave way to rainbow colored chaos. Wind rushed at my body from all directions. It made me feel like I was falling and flying at the same time. There were other things too. My eyes were closed but I could still see. For brief moments in time I lost awareness of my body like somehow I was being detached and re-attached.

Then I tumbled forward and out of that bright windy nothing, and on to a smooth cold surface. I came to rest on my back. I laid there for a moment, noting that the crowd had stopped talking. I distinctly remembered my life flashing before my eyes, but it was strange because I didn’t feel dead. Stranger still, my body didn’t feel right. Things felt out of place.

I caught hold of my breath and slowly inhaled, and then exhaled. The air seemed different, I also expected to smell the sharp aroma of splintered wood that I knew I had to have been laying on top of and under. Instead the air was crisp and clean, with faint odors I had never smelled before. I felt no pressure over me.

There were sounds that I couldn’t identify. They sounded mechanical and nearby. When I slowly opened my eyes I looked up into a crystal clear sky. Idly I wondered how long I had been out, and why no pony would have thought to help me up off the street. Then I thought back to the surface I had fallen on.

Stranger still, that particular intersection in Canterlot was all cobblestone. This surface was cement. “What the hay!” I muttered and sat up. The adrenaline wearing off left behind in its wake a nice headache and I moved a hoof to my forehead and froze when I noticed that my hoof didn’t look like my hoof.

“What!?” I dangled what was supposed to be my hoof in front of me. The fetlock and hoof were gone, and where there was supposed to be fur, just light yellow-gray hairless skin?

Panic started to rise in me as my brain registered that this strange looking foreleg was in fact mine. I turned what used to be my hoof over. My hooves had been replaced with skin covered digits, like a griffon’s front talons but much more delicate.

“H-how odd.” I laughed nervously. The headache seemed to grow. Instinctively I brought my new body part up to my forehead, then stopped all motion when I felt around smooth skin on my forehead. My horn was missing!

“My horn! Oh no oh no oh no.” I felt around my forehead and my muzzle and noticed it was much flatter. I could still feel my eyebrows but everything else to my eyes and nose and mouth were completely foreign. I felt for my ears, they were now to the sides of my head, level with my eyes.

Now in full panic, I turned myself clumsily around to get up, only to collapse again when I couldn’t gain balance and instead lurched forward, planting my face firmly into the ground. I turned around again and brought all my legs up above me. “Why are my hind legs so long!?”

“Hey! Are you okay!” A soft concerned feminine voice yelled out from somewhere. I turned to look at the source of it. It was a creature that seemed similar to my current state. She stood tall and appeared to be walking on her hind legs. The forelegs were moving around the sides, to keep balance? I didn’t know. There were actually two of these bi-pedal creatures. One had yellow skin and a long pink mane. The other had white skin and a violet mane.

They were both tall, really tall, and they were galloping towards me on two legs. I shrieked as panic set in. All I knew was that I had to get away from them. I momentarily forgot my predicament as I once again got up on all fours and tried to run. I didn’t do too well; I hadn’t bothered really taking stock of my surroundings. I conveniently ran head first into the hardest, sturdiest object nearby. It was the base of a statue, and it hurt. Ringing assaulted my ears.

The headache reached a crescendo and my vision blurred into stars “Ooooohhhhhh…”

Those two creatures were beside me then, but I couldn’t fight them. Oh what had I gotten myself into? All I could do was listen to them with difficult comprehension as I began to feel weightless.

“Are you okay? Hello? What’s your name?” The pink one asked the other. She was concerned? They weren’t attacking me? “Rarity,” she looked up at the other, “I’m worried she hit her head awfully hard. Oh I hope she’s okay.”

“Call nine-one-one and I’ll call Sunset.” The other responded sternly.

I noticed in one hoof they were holding something pink and rectangular while tapping upon it with the other. They then held them up to their ears. I had little time to ponder what they were doing. My thoughts were blurring and my world was fading to gray and pastel stars.

“Do you think she came from the portal?” The concerned one asked. I hung on that last word, portal.

“I don’t know.” The one identified as Rarity responded. “Hello Sunset, darling…” The rest was incoherent words while both of them began speaking through the rectangles they were holding. My consciousness slipped away shortly after.

---===000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000===---

Moving in and out of consciousness is not fun. Time doesn’t work right. Everything is like a foamy gray and occasionally you get little wisps of reality, swimming right on the edge of awareness.

The first shred of consciousness I had was being inside something moving, like a carriage. There was a shrill wailing sound that dipped and rose in tone constantly. It sounded urgent and commanding. Above me was a metal like ceiling, cabinets of metal, and things like wires dangled from the walls and out of view. They swayed back and forth as the carriage turned.

I felt presence around me. Hints of yellow and pink, and that comforting tone of the creature that hovered over me before I passed out. There was another I hadn’t seen before, with blue hair and gray skin. It was holding something to my chest. They were speaking to each other.

I slipped back into frothy gray, then out again, inside a smooth beige thing, like I was sticking through the hole of a vanilla donut. There was a whirring noise around my head. I mumbled something and tried to move my head, then I felt a warm gentle pressure against my hoof. “Try to relax honey, it’s just a cat scan, you’re doing fine, everything’s fine.” It was a calming voice.

“c-cat scan? That sounds redicu-lo” I remember asking in barely a mumble. Consciousness slipped away from my grasp again.

Amongst the gray I saw what I thought was Princess Luna. First there was a hint of purple and black that coalesced into the visage of an alicorn standing straight and tall as I felt her approach. Her face filled my vision and her eyes closed in delight as she whispered. “I’m glad you’re safe. I’ll tell the others. Don’t panic when you wake.”

The purple faded into points of light. The miasma began to subside from my senses. My hearing was first to return. It faded in as waves, first as muffled tones and then a full range of sound. I first heard a beep that seemed to coincide with my heartbeat. The low murmur of a dozen or so different conversations then swam in. I was in a large room, I judged from the echoes. I was on my back in a rather uncomfortable bed.

I heard somepony talking beside me, to my left. It was a male voice, slow and subdued, as if whoever it was didn’t want to wake me. “I have good news. The results of the cat scan show that while there is some swelling consistent with a concussion, it is very minor. The nurse said that Miss Dancer was briefly conscious during the procedure so she should come to pretty quickly.”

“Does she need to stay for observation?” Yet another new and unfamiliar voice asked what I supposed was a doctor. What was with all these new voices?

I had enough mental capacity to think again clearly at that point. I must have been in a hospital. I had a concussion. I cursed myself for not following up on the more recent applications of magic in the field of medicine. Using cats to scan for concussions sounded rather odd. Forcing those cats into some big donut shaped tube around my head sounded downright insane. But hey, stranger things have happened.

A concussion would have also explained the odd things I had seen. Perhaps whatever was in the wagon had fallen on me and knocked me out? This had all been a concussion inspired dream.

My eyes fluttered open to a sterile, white and unfamiliar ceiling of rectangular panels. One panel held what seemed like a light source of some sort. “Uuughhh.” I breathed through something that covered my mouth.

“She’s awake.” I heard the doctor say, then I saw his face. He had a black mane, blue skin, purple eyes, and a flat muzzle. It was one of those creatures again!

“Eeep!” I yelled out in shock.

Don’t panic when you wake. Princess Luna’s suggestion seemed fitting about then. I had no idea what these things where, and they didn’t seem dangerous, yet. I blinked and looked around. I repeated it in my mind like a mantra. Don’t panic when you wake. Don’t panic when you wake. Don’t panic when you wake.

The doctor creature held something in his strangely-digited hoof that filled my eyes with light. It caused me to blink uncontrollably. Another creature appeared over me and to my right. Unlike the doctor, who was smiling politely, she had concern in her eyes and a deep nervous frown across her lips.

Our eyes locked on to each other’s. I studied her features carefully while the doctor removed whatever had been covering my mouth. Its stretchy straps tugged against my mane as he pulled it up. She had amber skin and a red mane, much like mine, except she had yellow stripes in hers. Her hair bracketed her face in slight curls. I then realized the look in her cyan eyes were telling me that she knew something that I knew.

The doctor spoke up. “I’m going to ask you a few questions okay. I just want to make sure you’re firing on all cylinders. Nod if you understand, and say okay.”

“Okay.” I nodded and looked at the doctor. I had no idea what he meant by firing on all cylinders but I assumed that meant I was okay.

“What is your name?”

“Moon Dancer.”

“Great! What day of the week is it?”

“Thursday.” I offered.

“Good, good.” The doctor looked down at a clipboard and wrote something down. “Finally, who is the President of the United States?”

“Um.” I paused. President? United States? “I don’t know.” Just great. I managed to piece enough together at this point I had a fairly good idea what was going on… I breathed…

I’m Moon Dancer, a brave unicorn pony from Equestria who saved the unknown contents of a cart bound for the palace, only to have said contents fall on me. Get this, those contents were a portal to some place called United States! So hilarious.

I smiled awkwardly. “I don’t know?”

The doctor, didn’t look up from his clipboard. “Two out of three. You did hit your noggin. We’re going to give you some time to rest up and-“

“Who is the current ruler of Equestria?” The amber one beside me asked quickly. “And who is the Princess of Friendship.” The doctor and I looked over at her. Her face had lost all expression. Her eyes held mine. Something settled in the pit of my stomach.

I had never seen these strange bipedal creatures before in my life. Nothing, absolutely nothing in the multitude of books up to that time had anything mentioning them. Equestria has bi-pedal creatures of course, various primates, minotaurs, baby dragons, and some odd and end creatures are able to walk bi-pedal for short distances.

Discord came close. But discord was pure chaos whereas these, whatever they were, shared common characteristics, just like ponies. Throughout the known world ponies had met strange and sentient beings. Nothing like these creatures. This line of thought also didn’t explain why I was now one of them.

I realized the air around me was thick with the questions asked of me. Cyan eyes were still focused in on me, drilling holes into my head. The doctor had put down his clipboard and just watched with mouth agape.

I finally answered. “Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria and Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of Friendship.”

This invited a quizzical stare from the doctor. “What does that mean?”

I turned and looked at the girl as well. “Yes. What does that mean?” I asked her, pleading with her to tell me something about how she knew about Equestria, Princess Celestia or even Twilight Sparkle.

The amber colored girl giggled. “Oh Moon Dancer, stop being so silly. You had us all worried.” She reached in and hugged me, and ruffled my mane. I couldn’t turn away fast enough from what I assumed then to be a crazy basket case. “See, my sister has a pretty vivid imagination and has this entire world she created with these magical princesses that rule over a land of fairy tales called Equestria. She’s hoping to get a book published!”

She ruffled my mane once more. I tried to swat her away. “I think she’s going to be just fine doc.”

The doctor breathed. “All the same. I’d like to keep her here a few more hours for observation, then we can let her go home.”

“Okay, if you insist.” The crazy one pouted. “Now if you’ll excuse me doc, I’d like to talk to my sister, alone.”

She led the doctor out of the little curtain divided room that I then realized I was in. Once the doctor was thoroughly banished, she shut the curtain and turned to me. Her expression then seemed less crazy and more cautious. I knew at that point it had all been an act. “Sorry about that.” She said quietly as she walked back towards me. “How do you feel?”

“My head hurts. I’ve been better.” I responded, then got down to business. “But you’re not my sister, and tell me how you know about Equestria, because as far as I can tell, Equestria this is not.”

“I better fill you in on what happened to you and where you are. First things first. If the doctor asks you who the president is, its Frank Cards. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, did Princess Twilight ever tell you about the portal to the human realm?”

“Human?” I asked. I held up my hooves and waved the digits in front of my face. “Is that what I am in this place?”

“Indeed. Those are hands. Your forelegs are called arms. You are currently a human being. You have the portal to thank for that.” Thank you portal. “Humans are the dominant species here. There’s no magic.” She frowned strangely. “At least not much.”

I studied her eyes. Her answers were yielding more questions. “How do you know my name?”

“Princess Twilight told me your name.”

“But-“ She held up her hand and I fell silent.

“Please. Perhaps, I should start from the beginning.”.

She was right. We would have made it to the magical land of nowhere had I peppered her with questions.

“Shortly after you arrived I got a message from Princess Twilight. I’m able to communicate with her. I’ll explain how later on but you must know what happened. That carriage you tried to save was transporting a mirror. But it is more than just a mirror. It is a portal that connects Equestria to the human world.”

“I take it the mirror fell on top of me.”

“It did. Not many ponies know about the mirror. Princess Twilight and her closest friends know, as well as the Princesses themselves. Also myself and my friends here.”

“Now me, I’m afraid.” This was most excellent news, in a sarcastic sense. “But I’m friends with Twilight and she never told me about the mirror.”

“It might be just the Elements of Harmony. Anyway, and here’s the bad news.” The girl turned away from me and started pacing. I noticed during her pause that she was wearing clothing from head to fetlock. There were several different articles of clothing, including a black jacket with orange stripes on the arms, as well as a light blue shirt and blue pants. This world must have had a taboo on nudity, or frowned upon it.

She continued, “Princess Twilight tried to come in after you. She couldn’t. The mirror opens for a few days every 30 moons, but the princess found a way to preempt that. Whatever way that was stopped working. Twilight’s busy trying to figure out what happened. She doesn’t even how it opened for you. I’m, afraid, you’re trapped here for a while.”

I looked at her, deadpan, and let my head drop on the pillow. “Great. Just great.”

I stared at the ceiling, studying its otherworldly tiled appearance. I had seen nothing like it. The light tile in particular was really strange. It was all quite fascinating.

A silence fell over us, and I thought about all I had learned. My new red and sunshine maned friend knew an awful lot about Equestria and had intimate knowledge of the Princesses. She even had hidden knowledge about a portal to another world that the Princesses had conveniently kept from the public eye. That meant one obvious thing. “You’re from Equestria, aren’t you.”

“You’re right, I am.” It was comforting to know I wasn’t the only pony here. “Did you know that Princess Celestia had a student before Twilight Sparkle?” She asked.

“Yes. I met her once when I was a little filly. She was awfully rude and stuck up. She wasn’t a very nice pony to be around.” It was nothing but the truth. That same pony, Sunset Shimmer, had disappeared to whereabouts unknown. The rumor was she had wronged the princess so badly that she was in a forced exile.

“Yeah, I was, wasn’t I.” …And I had just found her.

I tilted my head to look at her. She was looking down at the ground with one arm held in the other hand. The way she didn’t look up at me told me this wasn’t a comfortable thing to dredge up, but at least I had a name to go with the face.

She sighed, then looked up at me. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sunset Shimmer.”

Author's Note

Aaaannnnd there is chapter 1 and we have the two principal characters of this little adventure! :raritywink:

After the Prologue and Chapter 1 I will be settling into a cycle where I post a chapter after the next chapter is complete. This means that you will see chapter 2 after I'm done with chapter 3, and so on and so fourth. This is so that I can have at least one chapter in the pipeline in case anything happens in real life that prevents me from completing a chapter in the time that I would like. You will not be waiting so long for another chapter in case that does happen.

Chapter 2 - A Feeling Not Unlike Falling

All ponies have magical abilities. I know, that’s a mundane statement coming from me. But if you would indulge me for a moment, and let me set the stage for what I discovered next, you’ll begin to understand why what I just said is so important.

Firstly, we have the Earth ponies. You are the tribe that are able to wield the magic of the earth below your hooves. You are the rock farmers, apple buckers, and crop growers throughout Equestria. It isn’t just talent that makes you successful at these important things. Earth pony physiology is tuned to the physical world of plants, minerals, and the like. If you’ve ever seen a farmer in their field and they have their head down and an ear to the ground, they’re not just listening to the soil below. They are bringing their brains closer to their field, and they can learn so much by doing so. Unicorns and Pegasi are unable to do that.

And speaking of the agile Pegasus tribe; you are able to wield the magic of the sky above. It’s throughout your entire body, but it is concentrated in your feathers. The flap of a Pegasus wings does more than just move air about. It brings into your control the awesome power of the magical ether that flows through the air we all breathe. It also allows you to sense minute vibrations in the atmosphere, and control the clouds. Lady Fluttershy, the element of kindness herself, is said to have such a sway over animals because she has subconsciously learned to listen to the vibrations they emit, and to respond in kind with calming vibrations from her own wings.

Last but not least, there’s the unicorn tribe, of which I am a member. While the Earth and Pegasus ponies can use earth and air magic respectively, they cannot shape the magic itself. Not only are we unicorns able to control magic, but we are able to mold it with time and training through magical spells, to do anything we wish it to do. The focus of this power is within our horns. Through its symmetry and complex internal structure, it is an organic connection we have to the realm of magic. Furthermore, it is a unicorn’s unique ability for magic spells that has allowed us to make our own contributions to the betterment of the three unified tribes.

Then, you have the human world. Like I said, ponies have magical abilities. When I emerged from the portal I was no longer a pony. I remembered panicking when I realized my horn was gone, but the consequences of that fact had not truly occurred to me until after Sunset Shimmer introduced herself. The feeling I got in my very core when I realized I could not sense the presence of magic, nor could I talk to it and tell it my will, was a feeling not unlike falling. The magical silence was deafening to me. Something that I always felt in the air around me, coursing through me, had been shut off like a faucet.

Simple mundane tasks like adjusting the pillow underneath my head became confusing obstacles. Adjusting my glasses was something I learned to do quickly after I got them. It only took simple thought and I could do it without even losing concentration on whatever I was doing. Then, there in that hospital bed, it seemed impossible.

After another nurse had left Sunset Shimmer and I alone in the room. Without anything else to do, I lifted my forelegs, then known as my arms, so that I could look at my hands.

Allow me to explain to you what I saw in place of my hooves. You are probably already familiar with the dragons and minotaurs of Equestria and how they’re able to grasp things in their claws that a pony’s hooves cannot. Being a human meant that my hooves were replaced with similar appendages. My hands were odd looking things, with many joints. I surmised that the human species must have been primate in physiology, and that having these new hands meant that like Princess Twilight’s legendary assistant Spike, I would be able to grasp things with ease. It meant that my hands could stand in for my lack of magic, if I could only figure out how to use them.

The range of motion of my hands upon my arms were amazing. I could twist them in different directions and angles. There were five digits on each hand that I had curled up for no reason other than not realizing I could extend them out, and when I did so I breathed, “oh wow.”

“Those are your fingers.” Sunset noted to me as I inspected them.

Each finger had several joints of its own and I realized I could flex them. Smiling at myself, I reached a hand up for my glasses. I was thankful that my fingers had very short and stubby nails because I ended up jamming one finger up my nose, then up behind my glasses and into an eye, before I managed to push my glasses up sufficiently. I then turned to Sunset Shimmer who was trying to keep from laughing at the spectacle. I narrowed my eyes at her.

She chuckled a bit before stopping herself. “S-sorry.”

I closed my eyes and looked away from her sharply as I continued to re-adjust my glasses with my clumsy human hands. “This isn’t exactly EASY you know. It’s not like I was born with these or anything.”

“Trust me, You’ll get use to them soon enough. It’s going to be a maddening couple of days for you, provided you’re here that long.” Sunset sat down in a chair beside the bed and leaned her head forward to rest in her hand. “But in a realm without magic those things come in real handy, if you’ll pardon my pun.”

I sighed then smiled. She was only trying to be helpful, I hoped. “Pardoned.”

“Princess Twilight took it pretty well. There were a few times I could see in her eyes she was trying to use magic to do something, then she’d have to give up and use her fingers. I on the other hand…had some problems.” Sunset finished and seemed to stare off into nothing, as though suddenly reminded of a time she longed not to dwell on.

“Princess Twilight visited this realm?” My ears perked up. I decided to bite on that thread of thought. We both knew Twilight, it seemed. The idea that Twilight had gone through this became a common point between us, something we could use to break the ice.

“Yeah. Actually she visits a lot, now that we are all friends.” Sunset smiled at me again, and gave me a chance to take note how genuine her smile was. It wasn’t that smug self-centered grin I remembered from my youth. Its sincerity disarmed me, not that I trusted her then.

Everything that Sunset had said to me before she told me who she was had become suspect. One simply doesn’t blindly trust somepony who was banished by the princess. To borrow some crude language that I picked up over the years, it took a lot to piss off Princess Celestia

I had claimed earlier to Sunset that I had met her once before, and that is the truth. I truly only met her personally one time, a spring afternoon the day after midterms. She addressed us all rather rudely, and had actually made eye contact with me as she berated us for no good reason. The idea of being addressed by the student of Celestia should have been a big deal. But Sunset made it so unpleasant that we all eventually blocked it out of our mind.

Everyone at Celestia’s School who attended at the time knew Sunset Shimmer when she became the Princess’ personal student. I recall how much of a braggart she was. She gloated every single day about her achievements. She was distant and made friends with no one.

She claimed we were jealous of her power. Indeed, Sunset Shimmer was powerful and could very well have become what Princess Twilight Sparkle had achieved, had everypony at the school not begun to loathe the pony we called Sludgy Slimeball.

It got worse after she passed her senior mid-term. Her claims of achievement became obsession, until one day, she vanished. Princess Celestia would routinely visit her school, with her protégé by her side. We were all stunned when she visited one bright Monday morning, minus Sunset Shimmer. She said nothing to any of us, greeted none of us. The only thing she did that day was to summon the entire faculty to an impromptu secret meeting in first period, and then gave us the rest of the day off.

The faculty said nothing after that. Rumors started that Sunset had run so far afoul of Celestia that she had been banished to a desolate place far away from Equestria. We had all wondered, just what did Sunset Shimmer do to earn Celestia’s wrath, which, at the present time when Sunset noticed the inquisitive look I had been giving her and looked away from me, must have included banishment to the human world.

“Look,” Sunset started, unable to make eye contact with me. She sighed. “if it makes you feel any better, I remember you enough to know you attended Celestia’s School at the same time I did; and even though I was a senior at the time and you were probably not even in your advanced studies yet, I’m, sorry for the way I treated you and everyone at that school.”

“The rumor is you were banished for wronging the princess. We didn’t know how or where, well, I guess I know where now. But what did you do?”

“I wasn’t banished from Equestria okay, I--,” Sunset grimaced. I had hit a nerve I hadn’t intended to hit. “I did defy her. I let my curiosity turn into a lust for power, and accused Celestia of holding me back. I didn’t listen to her pleas with me to slow down. I began to resent her until she had no choice to banish me from the castle. I knew about the mirror, and took a chance that it would be open. When the guards walked me by the room that held the mirror I snapped.”

Sunset stood up and then walked to the curtain to peek out of it, then turned around to look at me. I could see wetness shimmering in her eyes. “After the mid-terms, Celestia showed me that mirror, to teach me a lesson I guess. Instead I became indignant. So while the guards were walking me out, I overpowered them, teleported my saddle bags, and jumped through the mirror.”

“You ran away from her.” I stated.

“Yeah, yeah I did.” She walked towards me. “Moon Dancer, I can only ask two things from you. Your forgiveness for any wrongs I’ve committed, and that you will attempt to trust me. I’m a different pony now.” She held out an arm towards me, hand outstretched. “I can prove it to you.”

I looked up from her hand to her face. What choice did I have? I truly had none other than to trust her. After what she had told me, being estranged from Celestia, Lusting over power. Was this all a trick? How did Princess Twilight factor in? Was my friend being duped?

What I did then was a compromise in my own mind. I refused to take Sunset Shimmer’s hand in my own, which is what I assumed was a custom of trust among humans. But I did have to offer her a token. I did have to trust her to my wellbeing for the time being so I could figure out what was going on.

I looked away, searching for the words. “I don’t know if I can really trust you given everything you just told me. How do I know this isn’t some elaborate trick to capture Celestia’s crown, or maybe Twilight’s?”

“Yeah, um,” Sunset began to scratch the back of her head and laughed nervously, “about that. You see, I, ah--”

That was the most inopportune time for the doctor to walk in through the curtains, and he did so with much personal fanfare. “So how’s our fantasy novelist doing!?”

“Errr, I…” I paused, then huffed. “Fine…”

“Heh heh.” The doctor chuckled, amused at something. He looked through his clipboard. “Sorry, it’s not every day I come across seventeen-year-olds writing fantasy novels.”

I mouthed the words seventeen under my breath. The portal not only changed my species, it changed my age. I was no longer Twenty-five-year-old Unicorn Moon Dancer. I was a seventeen-year-old filly, or, whatever human’s called their female children.

“I have good news for you. I don’t see any reason to hold you any longer. Blood work and vitals are normal. Everything else looks good.” He turned to Sunset. “Are you her legal guardian?”

Celestia’s former student took on that happy go lucky act again and smiled at the doctor. “Yep! Mom and dad are on a business trip. They know all about what happened and that she’s okay.”

“Good. The nurse will be by shortly with a wheel chair. I do need you to do me a favor okay.” I glared at the adults in the room. It was good to know that fillies were invisible when adults where present, even in the human realm, though part of this was an act on Sunset’s part, a really good act.

“Anything at all doc, just name it.”

The doctor seemed to pause for a moment then said “I need you to wake your sister up every couple-of hours tonight and ask for her name. If she starts to have problems recalling her name, I need you to call the hospital immediately.” He finished writing something on a small slip of paper with his hand, an action that looked so comical, yet made sense. “Here’s the number to call, and an excuse from school tomorrow, for both of you.”

He then addressed me. “And you, young lady, need to stop galloping into statues. You’re not a pony, got it?”

“Anything you say doc.” I sighed. “Can I get off this bed now?”

---===000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000===---

A strange thing about language in the human realm was that Equestrian and what Human’s called English were similar enough that reading, talking, and understanding was not difficult. Strange pronouns like everybody and anybody stood in place of everypony and anypony, and took some getting used to. Humans called themselves people, for instance.

So in the interest of a strange cultural exchange, I will begin using what was common language in the realm I was stuck in. Equestrian words will be dropped in favor of purely English vocabulary. I did find it fascinating, and I believe you will too. And, while Sunset Shimmer and I used Equestrian in our dialogue, it was purely for the benefit of Sunset Shimmer, who seemed to revel in calling herself a pony again.

It was dark by the time Sunset Shimmer wheeled me out of the hospital into the cold night air and what I had learned by reading the signs was called the parking garage. The nurse insisted that I remain in a wheel chair while on hospital grounds. I didn’t mind as this is the case in Equestria as well. It allowed me to take in what was going on around me, plus, trying to stand on two legs would have been embarrassing with lots of people around. It dawned upon me though, that I hadn’t tried.

Watching all those bi-peds walking around in the hospital was a strange sight for me. They stood tall. One advantage it gave them was that their arms were free to carry items or push things easily while they walked. Sure, it wasn’t as efficient as magic, but it helped to assure me that my human body wouldn’t prove difficult to survive in.

Despite Sunset’s insistence that this world didn’t have magic. I noticed by the lighting, the strange machines that the people used, and how the huge glass doors to the outside world opened for us without requiring the use of our own magic, that there had to have been some form of magic at play. It only made sense.

“Blech.” I heard Sunset say in revulsion from behind me. She was pushing my wheelchair with one hand, while in the other held a paper that the person (a singular human, like pony) behind a counter gave her when I was officially being discharged. It was a bill for services rendered and she was scowling at it disdainfully.

“So you’re telling me the hospitals are not free here, like in Equestria.” I said quietly. Fortunately we were alone, but I still chose to speak quietly. It was a forgone conclusion that our true origins were a secret. I wondered how many souls knew the truth though.

“Sadly, yes. This bill’s gonna take a while to pay down. We’re lucky it’s only a minor concussion. That cat scan was expensive though, and I know what’s going on in your mind, no cats were involved.” Sunset pushed me forward a few more feet then stopped. She then walked around the wheelchair to stand in front of me. “I must ask you again because you didn’t get a chance to answer before. Do you trust me?”

I studied Sunset Shimmer’s eyes carefully. There was no malice in her eyes. Instead there was sincerity. I was understandably torn though. She did put on a good play for the doctor to convince him I was her sister. Was she playing me right then?

I inhaled a breath. I also had no other choice. “I will go along with you. For now. But you must understand that I only have your word to go by. I don’t know if you’ve truly changed or if this is some kind of trick. It also occurs to me that you don’t really know who I am either aside from what you claim Twilight Sparkle told you.” I left out the part about seeing Princess Luna in my head and her words about me being safe. I had no way of knowing at the time if that was just a concussion induced hallucination.

“I guess I’ll have to accept that. Now, this next part is going to seem difficult, but you’re going to have to walk now.” Sunset Shimmer adjusted the bag she was wearing, called a backpack. It was like a saddle bag, only it had loops through which she put her arms, and it rest against her back. “Try to stand up, and use me for support if you feel like you’re about to fall.”

“Okay.” I said slowly, then looked up at her. “How do I start.”

“Kind of like in Equestria when you get up from a chair. First you lean forward slightly and when you feel your center of gravity over your hooves, which humans call feet by the way, lift yourself up.” I did as she said. Standing while in human form turned out to be surprisingly easy. There was also something exhilarating about it. It made me feel higher off the ground, taller. I know I was taller than my pony self, but this was an altogether new experience for me. I smiled.

“Good. Good!” Sunset congratulated me. “Now wait one second, I have to return this wheelchair.”

I smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

As my then bi-pedal walking instructor walked away from me to return the wheelchair to the hospital, I looked down at my newly named feet, or tried to at least. But I couldn’t see past the two mounds of something that were hanging off me and underneath my sweater. I mentally noted to ask Sunset about them later, and then realized I was holding my arms to my sides with the lower arms out in front of me, and my hands were hanging down limp.

I decided to let my hands and my arms drop to my sides, which seemed a more natural stance for human beings from what I had observed in the hospital.

“Okay,” Sunset stood beside me and I could feel her warmth. She took one of my arms in hers. “Now we’re going to walk nice and slow over to my motorcycle, it’s parked right over there.”

She pointed to a strange looking bicycle that was sitting yards away to our left, at least it looked somewhat like a bicycle. It had a longer seat made of a black substance, in fact it was mostly black, and had many strange metal components that glistened a diluted silver under the strange yellow lighting of this parking garage. “Ready.” I nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Okay, left foot, right foot, don’t pitch forward too much and use your free arm as a balance if you need to.” I started forward, left foot, right foot, left foot…

I caught site of a foot as I stepped forward. I had black shoes on my feet. It destroyed my concentration and I stumbled.

“Wo, woah,” Sunset caught my weight under my arm and leaned down with me to help me up on my feet. “Don’t watch your feet too closely. Try to watch where you’re stepping, not as you step there. Ready again?”

“How long did it take you to learn this?” I asked her as we inched closer to her motorcycle.

“I arrived here on a weekend in front of Canterlot High School, so fortunately no one was around to see me stumble around for an hour.”

“Canterlot High School?” I asked incredulously, then stumbled slightly but managed to correct myself with Sunset Shimmer’s help.

“This world is like a parallel of our own, in many ways. Yet it’s different in many ways too.”

“How similar? Canterlot doesn’t have these, parking garages, nor does it have a Canterlot High School.” I asked. This walking on two legs got easier with each step, as if I was somehow unlocking hidden passageways in my brain that contained the vital instructions on how to do so, and those first few steps were the key.

“Believe me,” Sunset smiled and shook her head, “you’re only scratching the surface.”

We arrived at Sunset’s motorcycle, and a shrill sound like a wailing banshee erupted from Sunset Shimmer’s jacket, it startled me and I jumped back from Sunset. “Eeeeek!” I shrieked.

Sunset’s eyes widened at my reaction and she held out a palm. “It’s just my Cell phone, it’s okay.”

“Cell phone?! What in the goddess’ name is a Cell phone?” I was about to find out. Sunset pulled a strange looking red rectangular thin box from her jacket. One side had glass with something blue on it that illuminated her face.

She slid a finger across the illuminated side of the box and then held it up to her ear. “Hi Fluttershy.” Sunset said, her eyes seemed distant and she turned to stare off deeper into the parking garage.

I shook my head. From within the box itself I could hear the distant voice. “Hi Sunset, is the….” My thoughts drowned out the quiet voice coming out of the box. I recognized that voice. I’d heard it several times in Canterlot, and then again when I emerged in the human realm. It was that girl (human word for filly) whom had asked me who I was and if I was okay before I passed out. She sounded just like a younger Lady Fluttershy, and shared her name.

I watched and listened in fascination. A cell phone was just a way human’s had to communicate with people who were farther away. It still didn’t explain the startling shriek that I heard. Was Sunset Shimmer talking to a pony or a human named Fluttershy?

“Her name’s Moon Dancer and she’s doing just fine. You did the right thing…” Sunset looked at me and smiled. “Yes, she’s from Equestria, and she’s friends with Princess Twilight too. Can you do me a favor. I’m not going to be at school tomorrow so if you could, get my assignments and bring them to me, and if you could bring Rarity along. It’s only fitting for the two of you to meet her without her getting all panicky and galloping into a statue.”

I heard Fluttershy squeak from the cell phone, laughing. I winced. Yeah, real funny there.

While Sunset finished her conversation with a distant and equally fascinating Fluttershy, I looked down at Sunset’s motorcycle. It resembled a bike, though it had lots of metal bits and pieces I was not familiar with. The seat of the bike was long, like it could fit two humans on it. The pedals looked thin and unmovable. The core of the bike was a confusing mess of mechanical bits, and two silvery pipes that flowed from within and off to the back of the bike, beside the back wheel.

Above and in front of the seat were the words Harley Davidson and a pair of stylized wings. Sunset had ended her conversation with Fluttershy and stood beside me. “Moon Dancer, meet Road Runner.”

“You named it after the fastest earth stallion in Equestria?” I asked, dumbstruck.

“Well, he is pretty fast.”

All thoughts of trust or who I was dealing with lost, I looked at Sunset, my eyebrow arched wildly. “Road Runner? He? Sunset, it isn’t a stallion it’s a... a…”

“Motorcycle, I know.” Sunset laughed and reached down to touch the seat of the bike. “I got him about a year ago. He wasn’t running then, so I fixed ‘em up myself. He’s taught me a lot about gasoline engines and patience.” Sunset looked at me. “Oh, silly me. A gasoline engine is, you know what, not important right now. Here.” She picked up a black looking helmet and handed it to me. I turned it over in my hands clumsily and nearly dropped it before I figured out I could fit the edges of the helmet between my fingers and the middle of my hand. It seemed similar to something you’d see in Equestria, with only minor differences based on where a human’s ears were located among other small things.

Sunset sat down on the motorcycle and gestured behind herself. “Put that on your head and sit behind me. Don’t worry, I’ll go slow.” She pressed a few buttons in front of her on the handle bars, inserted a key, turned it, then stepped down on a lever beneath her foot.

The aforementioned gasoline engine roared to life in a loud pulsing rhythmic series of noises that sounded similar to a colt’s hoof knocking on a thin plank of old wood, yet it was mechanical and throaty. The way it echoed off of the walls of the parking garage did nothing to soothe my nerves. It sounded mean and dangerous, nothing like the Road Runner of Equestria. Whatever the two silvery pipes were emitting along with the sound had an oily and sharp smell. I stepped back slightly and stumbled to catch myself from falling back. My fingers where white from gripping the helmet within my hands.

I didn’t know what was scarier, that Sunset Shimmer had such an evil sounding mechanical beast that she used as a mode of transportation, or that she was voluntarily straddling it without anything to keep her from falling off the back should it decide to take off without her. Also, she wanted me to sit behind her.

Sunset frowned at my reaction then reached out a hand again. “Trust me?” She said loudly yet pleadingly over the noise. “Please?”

I studied Sunset’s stare for a good while, the deep throbbing sound of the engine seemed impatient as it sped up and slowed down in an imperfect rhythm. “Oh dear Celestia.” I swore as I put the helmet on. “I hope I know what I’m doing.”

“Here, put my book bag on.” Sunset offered me her book bag. I stepped forward and took it from her using my fingers again like a clamp.

I wiggled the bag on awkwardly, putting my still odd arms through its two straps. It fell into place behind me and the weight seemed manageable. I then put a leg over the seat behind Sunset. My feet found purchase on two extra pedals that were below me and to the sides of the bike, but I had no idea what to do with my hands.

“Um, what do I do with my arms?”

Sunset turned her head to the side. “Put your arms around me, and don’t sit rigid, I need you to lean when I lean okay.”

I nodded. “Sure, Okay.” I put my arms around Sunset’s thin center. I felt both my hands touch and realized I could interlock my fingers, so I did, and pulled myself into an odd embrace with her. “Let’s just get this over with.” I felt Sunset move and heard what I assumed was a kickstand retracting up. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“My Apartment. You’re staying there as long as you need to. You’re my guest here, and any friend of Princess Twilight is a friend of mine.” Sunset finished. She walked the motorcycle back a few meters.

“You know it’s funny.” I laughed nervously. “For some reason I thought it would be a library-aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!” My laughing turned to screaming as the engine roared awake and we sped out of the parking garage. Sunset leaned forward and I clung to her for dear life.

This was going to take some getting used to.

---===000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000===---

After the parking garage had disappeared from behind us, and I stopped screaming, I began to take in my surroundings. We were making our way down a tar black road made of another surface that I had never seen before. It looked fresh and recently paved under the overhead lights that lined the road. The light above us, and our shadows, danced with each yellowish light as we passed by it underneath. True to her word, Sunset had settled in to a speed I could at least get used to. Strands of her hair flew into my face occasionally and I had to scrunch my nose to keep from sneezing at the ticklish sensation.

We were not alone on this road as we approached the town ahead. The human world had four wheeled wagons that ran on their own, using a variant of the gasoline engine that powered Sunset’s motorcycle, Road Runner. We maintained our pace with the cars, as they were called. Occasionally one would pass us and I’d eye it nervously along with the occupants inside, but Sunset didn’t flinch.

“What town is that up ahead?” I asked loudly. The road narrowed and we slowed down at an intersection. Above and facing were a series of red lights. Cars and even another motorcycle started crossing the intersection in front of us.

“Downtown Canterlot.”

“Canterlot?” My eyes widened and I shook my head. “How is this Canterlot? Where’s the castle? Where are the mountains?”

I could feel Sunset chuckle. “I wondered that myself when I first arrived. Sadly THIS Canterlot isn’t the capital of anything. It is the county seat of Equestria County though.”

The light above us turned green and we accelerated again through the intersection. I held Sunset a little tighter at the sudden movement. “What about Ponyville?”

“It’s south of here by a few miles. As for what they’re named after, that’s a road we’ll cross when we come to it.”

“Ooohkay.” I pondered Sunset’s response then decided to let it go. I watched the buildings closely as we entered downtown Canterlot. The day had long given way to night and the artificial lighting illuminated the buildings strangely in different angles. The lights of this strange town were not the soft yellow lights one could see all across Canterlot of Equestria. This Canterlot had an uneven mix of different kinds of lights. Signs of yellow and blue and green in shop windows clashed with street lighting. Greens and yellows and red mixed with bright front lights of the cars ahead of us as they passed.

There were people walking along the sidewalks going about whatever they were doing. I could see people in shops and restaurants as we passed. The people milling about seemed impeccably dressed and genuinely happy. I smiled at the familiar scene. Had this not been a poor approximation of our Canterlot, and had I not been displaced, and HAD I been a human by birth, this place would have felt comfortably like a home town. I frowned though, this was so obviously not my beloved Canterlot.

Sunset broke the silence. “Canterlot is a very rich community. Lots of very wealthy people live here. Some of them are downright snooty, but others are nice.”

I laughed. “Well it’s nice to know some things are the same.”

We passed another intersection into a street lined with noticeably darker though pleasant buildings. They looked like the townhomes of Canterlot, though the dimensions were different. This was a town built for taller bipeds after all. It made sense. Sunset lowered her speed and Road Runner’s engine quieted down. “A lot of these people make a daily commute to Manhattan by train. It’s pretty inefficient if you ask me, but this isn’t Equestria so I don’t complain much about their lifestyle here.”

I nodded. Then I noticed her odd choice of city name. “Wait a minute, Manhattan? Don’t you mean Manehattan?”

“Nope!” Sunset let the ‘p’ pop from her lips slightly as she concentrated on the very narrow road and the people cutting across the street ahead. “It’s Manhattan. Just like there’s a Baltimore, Philadelphia, Las Vegas. It’s very weird I know. The similarities and the differences are interesting. I don’t know why this world is so parallel to ours but askew at the same time. These Humans are different from us, in so many ways, yet…” Sunset seemed to trail off in thought, then shook her head. “Anyway. We’re here.”

I looked around us as Sunset slowed the bike down even further. To our left was some more town homes, but to our right was a tantalizing site. It was a two story building, and on the first floor, behind a large storefront window with the name “Books’ Books”, bathed under warm lighting, were rows and rows of books!

We came to a stop in front of the book store and even though Sunset stopped the engine, I could still hear it’s droning thumpy sound in my head. I moved to get off and could feel the heat radiating from the engine as well as very quiet popping and tinkle sounds from metal cooling off. I made a mental note to ask Sunset about those gasoline engines in the future and removed my helmet. I could feel strands of my loose and messy hair fall back into place. I looked at the book store. “You live in a book store.” I stated curiously.

“No. I live above it.” Sunset pointed to the second story windows above the store. They were dark save for one light coming from behind a white curtain. “I do work in the book store though.”

We approached two glass and metal framed doors, Sunset assumed the lead while I walked carefully behind her. Thankfully each step I took seemed more sure than the next, and before long I knew I wouldn’t have much trouble walking on two legs. One door led to the bookstore and lots of inviting books beyond. Behind the other, to the right of the first, I could see a darkened set of blue stairs that led up to Sunset’s apartment, a small light at its top was the only illumination. It was dull, drab, and completely utilitarian.

My host pulled out a set of keys, and after a few moments of cursing at the obviously stubborn lock that was beyond repair and was in desperate need of replacement, the door opened with a pop, and we walked into the cold stairwell. “Be sure to grab the handrail, these old steps are slippery.” She said to me and I nodded, grabbing the handrail for good measure. It’s a good thing she did because every fifth or so step was met with my feet trying to slip out from under me.

We finally reached the top of the stairs and Sunset carefully unlocked the door to her apartment. “I apologize for the mess. I don’t get many visitors. Not that I’d want them. Anyway. Welcome to my apartment.” There was a quiet click as the door unlocked and she pushed the door open then walked in. I followed cautiously and looked around the dark room.

Sunset turned on the lamp resting on a table, and the room bathed in a more natural light that seemed similar to the arcane and natural lighting back home. I looked at her and had to smile at that. I didn’t know if it was intentional or not but it seemed fitting for a displaced pony from Equestria to prefer such things.

“The lighting here is odd. My lamps are close enough to the lighting back home so it doesn’t bother me.” Sunset offered. I didn’t answer immediately. Instead I chose to take in the surrounding apartment. The living room of Sunset’s apartment had to have been a far cry from what she had been accustomed to in Canterlot, what with being Princess Celestia’s estranged pupil.

Beneath our feet was a dull green carpet, darker than fresh spring grass, almost the color of damp grass after a hard rainstorm. It seemed old in places. Humans don’t have the same olfactory sense that we Ponies have. The apartment had a faint odor similar to a gas lamp that dissipated almost as soon as we crossed the threshold of the door. The apartment was not at all unpleasant. It was an apartment that had seen many tenants in its old age, and I guessed this building must have been at least as old as the town of Canterlot itself, had I been a human historian, which I was not.

A mismatch of furniture sat around and against the walls. There was a yellow couch along the wall opposite the window at the front of the building. Its cushions seemed plush and well worn. Beside it were two wooden end tables, one of which held a lamp, and the other, a stack of books. In front of the couch sat an equally mismatched coffee table made of a black metal and glass. More books and papers were strewn across its surface, including some things I had never seen before, like a black rectangular box with lots of soft buttons on top of it with letters, numbers, and arrows.

An adjacent wall beside the hallway to the rest of the apartment, sat a tall and very inviting pitch black bookshelf with a healthy assortment of books and a few odd nick knacks. I smiled at that. I knew I wouldn’t get bored here; A whole new realm with thousands of books I had never seen or read. I walked in a bit and eyed the last piece of furniture whose function I couldn’t even begin to describe. It was another table, gray in color, that sat underneath the window. On top of it was a black rectangular thing, with a black surface that had nothing on it. I could see wires hanging off the back of it and on the floor, and on one corner there was a small red light.

Other than that the walls where white an unadorned. A few of the corners had small cracks in them, a testament to the age of the apartment. Sunset Shimmer must have noticed the distracted wandering of my gaze as I took in her apartment. “Welcome to my home, or, what stands in for my home these days.” She removed her backpack and sat it down beside the coffee table, then plopped herself down on the couch to let herself sink in to its cushion.

I walked towards the book shelf and tilted my head to look at the titles of the books. “Exploring America, A Brief History of Time, The Sundance 2015, A Pony Picture Book.” I arched an eyebrow. “Pony Picture Book?” I whispered and turned around to ask Sunset what that last book was about, but Sunset had her hands busy going through the contents of her backpack. She finally pulled out a book emblazoned on the cover with her cutie mark, then pulled a pen out of her backpack.

“What’s that book for?” I asked.

Sunset looked up. “This is how I communicate with Princess Twilight back in Equestria.” It took no time at all for me to make the short distance from the bookshelf to the couch, but almost instantly I was sitting beside Sunset.

“But I thought you said there’s no magic here.” I shook my head. “Now you tell me you have a book that sends messages to Princess Twilight.”

Sunset smiled, and I had to admit her smile was growing on me. Not once did it seem disingenuous. “But I also corrected myself and said there’s not much.” She held up the book for me to inspect. The glossy paint of her cutie mark reflected slightly in the lamplight. “This is the not much.” She clicked the top of the pen and opened the book. “Anything I write in here gets written in a similar book in Twilight’s library. The other one used to belong to Princess Celestia.” Sunset paused and seemed to pet the page of the opened book slightly, as if any time she recalled the princess was a painful thing. “Celestia gave the book to Twilight a year or so ago. The last time Twilight was here she promised me she’d always keep it in a prominent place so she can keep an eye on it in case I wanted to send her a message. And given recent events I’d imagine she has it by her side right now, so, here goes.”

I sat and watched while Sunset Shimmer wrote a long message in the pages of the book. I could see a colorful and altogether impossible spark underneath the pen. Sunset traced beautiful cursive lines along the page, and they shimmered as if the page itself was copying those lines to a different place.

Sunset made it to half a page in her message then closed her eyes, and the book as well. “Now we wait.”

An awkward silence fell between us while we waited for Princess Twilight to respond. But my mind would have nothing of silence. I thought back to everything that had happened to me since I awoke that morning, and I hugged myself in a shiver. It was as if the shock of what had happened finally settled in to my brain.

Only that morning I had awakened to my normal life as a graduate student at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. My other classmates and friends had finished their studies and graduated with basic degrees in their chosen fields, I knew early on that I loved studying so much, it only seemed logical to make the most of all the most prestigious school in Equestria had to offer.

But if I really looked back upon that day, and was really honest with myself, I would also have seen a young unicorn mare without a shred of an idea what she wanted to do with her life. I got the highest grades in school, all the professors loved me. Yet, every morning when I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, I could see the listlessness in my eyes. The only constant in my life were my friends and my studies. Other than that, I was a sailboat without a rudder.

My days were the same routine, broken up only by my loving friends, whom I adored greatly. I would lie to myself and to you my dear reader if I said I was content with it. I was indeed happy with my friends. Having a Princess as your friend had its perks as well. It was not my close loved ones that made me unhappy deep down. It was where I was headed. I didn’t know. A sailboat without a rudder indeed.

I was unprepared for that perfect yet chaotic storm that awaited me on my walk from the bakery. I would never in a million moons would have expected this to happen to me. It was a crazy, crazy coincidence that had found me sitting in the apartment of the long lost Sunset Shimmer, in a realm that was not Equestria, as we waited for Princess Twilight Sparkle to send us a message from beyond the realm.

“So are you hungry, thirsty, sleepy?” Sunset sat the book on the coffee table and stood up. “Here, let me show you the rest of the apartment.” She walked into the small hallway, I got up and followed behind.

The first room to our left was Sunset’s bedroom, illuminated comfortably by an old and yellowing lamp on a busy looking metal desk. It was the lamp I saw beyond the curtains when we had first arrived. The only other furniture was a nightstand with a box that had red illuminated numbers on it, like some kind of alarm clock, and a Spartan looking bed with cherry red sheets and some somewhat comfortable looking and equally red pillows. Beside the bed in a corner stood a small black box with knobs and dials. Attached to it and resting against it was something that looked a bit like a guitar, but it was thin and solid looking.

“This is my Bedroom.” Sunset offered, stating the obvious to me. I had to fight from rolling my eyes or snorting. It probably wasn’t the right time for sarcasm. I instead noted that unlike the living area, the bedroom had pictures and such along the walls of various people along with Sunset herself. They all seemed new and crisp. They surrounded a pennant with the name Canterlot Wondercolts in odd stylized lettering; the C itself was a horseshoe. A large blue poster with messy black copy print was pinned proudly by itself on another wall with one of the humans from the pictures, plus Sunset. The two of them were standing back to back looking towards me from the center of the poster. Each held what looked like the strange guitar that sat in the corner; Sunset’s looked exactly like it. The poster heralded The Rainbooms! In Concert at the Canterlot Arena, July 2nd, 2015.

The next room to the right of her bedroom was a cramped Bathroom. Sunset seemed to be proud of that fact as she announced what it was along with its function. It was nice to see that Pony and Human bathrooms were not much different, so aside from how cramped it was, it didn’t need much description beyond it’s cold white tiles and lack of décor.

That left only the kitchen and more cramped space. It had barely enough room for a green dining room table with shiny metal trim that sat against the wall to our left, three matching green chairs with silvery metal legs were pushed in around it. A simple flower arrangement sat atop the table in a glass vase, an arrangement of dandelions, which upon closer inspection turned out to be fake. A single window led out into a dark night beyond, a glow from a street lamp behind the building reflected off its frame.

A sink, stove, and human equivalent of a refrigerator, and lots of beige cabinets completed the ensemble, and in the center of the kitchen stood Sunset looking at me. She pulled out one of the green chairs from the table and sat down. “Your mind must be going full gallop.”

I joined Sunset and sat down at the table. “It’s not every day somepony has a portal to another realm fall on them. And this,” I waved my hands in front of Sunset for effect. “This is a lot to take in.”

“I know.”

“I don’t get it. Why are you here? The last time I saw you in Equestria you were an unpleasant pony that nopony wanted to be around.” Sunset’s form seemed to shrink into the chair as I said that. “In the hospital you said you were only banished from the palace, not from our entire world.”

“You still don’t trust me, do you?” She looked at me. I studied the worried look in Sunset’s cyan eyes. She wanted badly for me to trust her.

“I’m not saying I can’t trust you, but something just isn’t adding up here.” I gestured around me. “This entire world is practically a secret from most of Equestria. I’ve read every single volume on the complete works of Star Swirl as well as Haycarte, multiple times, and they never mentioned anything as strange as this human world. Unless…” I trailed off as I realized I had missed something. There was one legend about the old wizard that seemed to match. My ears perked up as much as they could for being a human. “Is the mirror to this world the same one that Star Swirl the Bearded used to send the Three Sirens away from Canterlot?!”

“Would you believe me if I said we fought and defeated them last year?” Sunset asked.

“I… What?” I narrowed my eyes in disbelief. “You defeated the sirens?”

Sunset Shimmer nodded in excitement. “I did! Actually. My friends, Princess Twilight, and I. WE defeated them. They’re powerless now, they live a couple blocks from here. Though they’re not exactly the friendly type. I think they’re still immortal. It’s hard to tell.”

I stared silently at my host while I worked through the implications of what she had just told me. I pushed my glasses back up on my nose. Some of Star Swirl’s more forbidden texts were locked away deep within the Canterlot palace archives. It was the worst kept secret of Equestria, but a secret nonetheless. “In Star Swirl’s old texts, he stated that he couldn’t defeat them so he pushed them through a mirror that was really a portal to another universe. Historians have been debating the mirror’s existence for a long time, without any context about why it existed or who created it. The only conclusions we’ve ever been able to make is that the princesses themselves forbade the publishing of certain texts after he died so we will never really know for sure.”

“Welcome to the unraveling of history my dear Moon Dancer.” Sunset grinned. “Do you like rabbit holes?”

“Well, I’m intrigued.” I offered.

“It’s easy to see why you’re friends with Princess Twilight. You’re both inquisitive bookworms.”

I snickered. We may have been dabbling in small talk, but it was a welcome time out from all that had happened today.

“To answer your question, about why I haven’t returned to Equestria.” Sunset looked away from me again and silently rapped a closed hand against the table top while closing her eyes. “There’s a lot about me that I’m not proud of. I don’t think I’m ready to go back, and…I don’t think Equestria is ready for me to come back… Anyway. Have you looked at yourself in a mirror yet?”

I shook my head. “No.” I looked at the palms of my hands. “I don’t know if I want to either.”

“Really, you should, the first times a killer. And you’re gonna have to see yourself sooner or later. Why not now?” Sunset stood up from the table, the chair scooted back against the tile slightly and let out a squeak. “The first time I saw myself I was alone. I have to admit I’m a little fascinated with how you’ll take it.”

I crossed my arms. “Oh so I’m an experiment now?”

“Oh c’mon. You know you wanna see too. Because I said it, it’s now eating you up inside.” She teased.

I sighed. She had a point. Ever since I arrived through that blasted portal I had yet to see myself, only the other humans around me. I caught glances of myself in reflective surfaces but never really looked. I looked at the table then back up at Sunset. “Alright. For science?” I stood up and offered my hand to Sunset.

“For science.” Sunset took my hand and led me to the small bathroom. We both walked in, then turned to face the mirror, and I was awestruck with what I saw.

Staring back at me, behind a pair of thick horn rimmed glasses connected together with the same old plain white tape that I was accustomed to, was me. But it wasn’t me either. It felt like I was looking through a funhouse mirror that not only changed my height but my species as well. I blinked in surprise, and moved my mouth to form the word “what” and the form in the mirror did the same thing. It made me feel like I was floating, even though my mind assured me that I was indeed seeing myself in the mirror, the other, deeper part of my brain yelled that this was all wrong.

I will try to describe what I saw in that mirror, and I will refer to her as Moon Dancer, the human so that you can also understand how I felt at the time. She had Dark Purple eyes like me, hidden but brilliant behind her glasses. Her bushy eyebrows were just as surprised as mine. My amaranth, purple and violet mane sat atop her head, the top tied off in a messy bun with a hair tie she had stolen from me, with the rest falling down her back. Some of it had come to rest against her shoulders and it bracketed her face.

Her bangs came down the sides of her face, and out from roughly the middle of each side were two small and unmovable ears. They seemed cute but still alien. She wore my favorite sweater; the one I had put on that morning. Human Moon Dancer wore a skirt the same color as my sweater, with my purple and violet cutie mark stitched into its dark fabric.

I turned and she turned, so I could look at her profile. Her muzzle was flat, with a small nose at the center of her face. Her skin was the color of my fur. I looked down and she did too. I raised my hands to my chest and she did too, at the two strange rounded bumps that I had noticed before. I squeezed at my chest and winced at their sensitivity when I realized they were part of her, to that extension, me. “What are these, I turned and looked at Sunset in the mirror.” Strangely her reflection didn’t seem so odd, but I was not Sunset Shimmer.

“Those are your breasts.” Sunset offered.

I let go and let my hands move up to my mane. “Oh. I uh, see.” I blushed. I ran my newly formed fingers through my hair and my reflection did the same. I lifted one hind leg back and up behind me. Human Moon Dancer was more than able to balance with only one foot on the ground. She had on plain looking looking black shoes. There was also a strange though comfortable white fabric between the shoe and my leg. I made a mental note to ask Sunset.

“What do you see?” She asked.

I let my leg drop back to the floor. “It’s me, but, it isn’t me.”

“I know. I’ve been here for years and I’m only now getting used to the idea that the creature in the mirror is me. I know one day I’ll look into this mirror and not even give it a second thought.”

I noticed that look again in Sunset’s eyes. A far off, wandering look. She had been doing that a lot this night. Saying something and then trailing off. She was giving distant and haunted looks. In my mind’s eye I could see Sunset Shimmer as a pony, absent of her scowl and her bad attitude, all alone in an alien world. I realized just how trapped Sunset must have felt. And I was beginning to understand just how much that Sunset Shimmer missed Equestria. “Why don’t you go back when Twilight re-opens the portal?” I asked. The reflection in the mirror said this as well, as if mimicking me just for fun. “Just go back and see what happens? I’ve only known you for a couple hours now, but you seem like a changed pony.”

Sunset sighed, the excitement drained from her face. “If only it were that simple.” She turned to walk into the living room and plopped back down on the couch, I followed her but didn’t sit down right away. Instead I stood there and looked at my hands. The thought of that creature in the mirror being me disturbed me greatly, and I shuddered. It wasn’t as if the creature looked bad at all, but she was not a pony. She was not me, and by some strange twist of fate that occurred that morning when a portal mirror fell on me, I was her for the time being. And based on what I had heard about Twilight trying to re-open the portal, it probably wasn’t going to be much longer.

I looked up at Sunset just as an aura of light enveloped the book and it wiggled slightly atop Sunset’s coffee table. She looked down quickly at the book, picked it up, and then opened it to begin reading. At first she mouthed the words in the book to herself, starting with “Dear Moon Dancer,” but as the words wore on, her mouth closed into a straight line. While she read I took the opportunity to sit down on the couch and studied her eyes as she read each line carefully.

Finally, she reached the last sentence and then looked at me apologetically while she held the book between us. “You better read this.”

I nodded and took the book from her, studied her form for a few moments then looked down at the pages of the book in front of me as I sat it on my lap.

Dear Moon Dancer

I am so happy to hear that you are out of danger, and that Rarity and Fluttershy were there when you emerged from the portal. Please tell both of them they have my thanks.

Both Princess Celestia and myself offer our apologies. It was our fault the mirror was in that intersection. If it is any consolation, the guards told me what happened, and we are grateful you saved the mirror itself from destruction.

I’m afraid I have some bad news. While the mirror is safely inside the palace now, we have been unable to re-open the portal. We don’t know how it opened for you, and the device I created to open the portal with assistance from Celestia’s book has stopped working.

We are still trying, but the mirror simply isn’t responding to anything we attempt. I’m afraid to say this, I don’t want to say it, but you should be prepared for the possibility that you may be stuck there for at least thirty moons until we can figure out what happened.

As for Sunset Shimmer. I can personally vouch for her sincerity and tell you that she’s my friend. She’s also an invaluable guide in the human realm. You can trust her completely.

Please, take care of yourself. I promise you that we will get you home.

Your friend,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

I closed the book slowly and turned to Sunset Shimmer. I spoke in almost a whisper. “It’s safe to say I can trust you now.”

Author's Note

I have abandoned that entire "one chapter ahead before posting" idea since after careful review, and a martini, it really didn't make any sense to me. That also means you get to read this chapter earlier than intended.

Proofreading of this chapter with my beta was finished via AIM on a cell phone, because technology is magic. :pinkiecrazy: