Rose Luck stands outside her flower shop. She isn't alone. Walking by in streams, there are dozens of potential customers strolling by her shop.
She also has her best friends Daisy and Lily beside her, helping her sell flowers.
And as they sell, they chat.
"Oh, my gosh, Rose, you just have to come by my flower show tonight," Lily gawked at one point. "Ponies will be here from all over Equestria. It could be a real boost for business!" She grins enthusiastically, waiting for Rose's answer.
Just as Rose is about to reply, Daisy throws in her own offer. "Rose's life isn't just about flowers, you know. She's surrounded by them all day, she deserves a break! I, for one, am throwing a terrific party tonight. And will you believe, but the Princess even RSVP'd! You just have to come, Rose. It won't be the same without you there!" Daisy also grins at Rose with her perfect, winning smile.
"What time do your events start? Maybe I can make them both," Rose suggests. She had always hated having to choose between her two friends.
"5:30!" Both mares squeal in unison.
"Ok... what time do they both end?"
"9:00!" Both mares shout again.
"Oh... I suppose I have to choose now, don't I?" Rose doesn't want to have to choose now. She'd rather just not go at all and say she wsn't feeling well."
"Oh, dearie, you don't need to make up your mind just yet," Daisy giggles.
"Yeah," Lily chimes in. "You have another 3 hours to make up your mind."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose parties late into the night. Maybe it was just because she had had a little too much to drink, but she feels as though she is drifting between two different places, like she is in control of two different halves. And what's especially strange is that she thinks she can see both Lily and Daisy in the same room. Weren't they both having different plans that night? Where exactly is she?
~~~~~~~~~~~
The following morning, Rose receives a knock on her door. She knows that it's too early to accept orders, but she answers the door anyway.
Standing there are Lily and Daisy.
"Hey, girls. You're up early." Rose rubs the sleep out of her eyes and combs down her mane with a weak levitation spell. "What's up?"
"Oh, I just wanted to thank you for coming to my party last night," Daisy grins. "You were a total blast! I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't saved the Princess from that rampaging pig!" She laughs. What's strange is that Rose doesn't even remember going anywhere last night, and she certainly doesn't recall rescuing the Princess from anything, rampaging or no.
"And I wanted to thank you for attending the flower show," Lily smiles. "We sure raised a lot of bits for the shop, didn't we, Daisy?"
"We sure did! We must have raised at least 700 bits at that event! And Lily tells me that you ran the donation booth."
"She sure did," Lily says. "In fact, she didn't leave that table all night. She absolutely refused to take a break."
"Wait, she was at my party, too," Daisy snarls, lowering her voice to a growl. "Are you saying that she didn't actually attend?"
"Well, she couldn't have," Lily retorts. "She manned the booth all evening. I watched her. Somepony else must have saved the Princess from that pig."
"Girls, please stop. I don't know where I was last night, but it wasn't with either of you," Rose shouts. As both mares turn to stare, Rose begins to walk away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some errands to run."
As she walks down the street away from her home, Rose can't help but contemplate the issue. She wasn't there. She knew she hadn't left her home all evening. Yet, she was there, at a party, and there, at the flower show. She had been in three places at once. According to her friends, anyway.
Although Rose trusts her friends, they were known to pull stunts like this as practical jokes. They must have arranged these stories just to get a rise out of her. Yes, that has to be it, Rose says to herself.
Right?
Despite her constant reassurances to herself, Rose couldn't help but think that she really had been in three places at once. It would explain her strange dream, and maybe even how she had gotten it. So, she decides to ask a third party.
Rose walks up to Princess Twilight's crystal castle with feelings of uncertainty. Maybe this isn't the way to find out, Rose thinks to herself. No, she thinks again, this has to be the way. How else will I find out? By going back in time?
So, she knocks on the door.
Almost instantly, Princess Twilight answers.
"Oh! That was fast!" She says.
"I installed a new doorbell system that teleports me to the entrance every time somepony knocks," Twilight explains. "So, what can I do for you?
"Actually, I have something to ask you about last night. Did I, by any chance, save you from a rampaging pig last night?"
"Why, you most certainly did, Rose. And I would like to thank you. It taught me a lesson about not to pet Fluttershy's animals that are not part of the petting zoo," she chuckles.
"Oh." Rose's heart sinks.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asks.
"It's just, everypony keeps telling me that I was at two different events last night. But I don't think I went to either."
Twilight's face falls. "I think you better come inside," she says. "We have a lot to talk about."
Little did Rose know that by entering that castle, her life was forever changed by the click of the heavy door falling into place.