The In–Between Place

Chapters

Prologue: Making a Niche in Reality
Chapter 1: Applejack
Chapter 2: Rainbow Dash
Chapter 3: Rarity
Chapter 4: Pinkie Pie

Prologue: Making a Niche in Reality

The In-Between Place
By Voidbinder

Twilight Sparkle, alicorn Princess of Friendship, sat on the floor of her castle library, preparing to tear a rift in the dimensional barriers between worlds. She was reading Starswirl the Bearded's notes on the Crystal Mirror for the fifty-seventh time, and yet she still felt she didn't have near the necessary preparation to attempt her plan.

As she was nearing the end, she heard a distinct buzzing sound coming from her left. Without taking her eyes off the paper, Twilight reached for the source of the sound, her hoof brushing around on the cold crystal floors of the castle until she made contact with an old, leather-bound book emblazoned with a red and yellow sun symbol. The journal that connected her to Sunset Shimmer.

Finally taking her eyes off the scroll in front of her, Twilight turned her attention to the careworn journal. She turned to the Sunset's latest message, and rolled her eyes as she read it.

Twilight, come on, we should cast this soon. I'm starting to get weird looks from everyone for hanging out at the statue on a day off. Seriously, there's nothing more in your library that could guide you.

Twilight sighed, and used her magic to pick up a pen and wrote Sunset a quick reply.

I'm really sorry, Sunset, but I don't want to risk missing something critical in Starswirl's notes. If we fail, we could cause permanent damage to the portal. I could never see you guys again. Just hold on there a little longer, alright?

She didn't have to wait long before the telltale buzzing of Sunset's reply came through.

That's really sweet of you, Twilight. I want to make sure the portal stays intact just as much as you.

But Twilight, we first talked about this a week ago, and I'm sure you've been studying anything you could get your hooves on since then. I know I have been. I think we're ready.

Twilight signed, and rubbed her head.

Sunset's right, Twilight thought. Delaying longer won't change anything. She picked up a pen and wrote back

Alright, Sunset. Let's do this. Ready on your end?

She watched as Sunset's writing appeared on the page.

Ready. We've got this.

Twilight was glad for Sunset's confidence.

If I'd had been doing this on my own, I'd probably never work up the courage to do what I'm about to do.

Twilight bowed her head, and felt a slight vibration as she poured magic through her horn into the portal. She felt her own twisting strands of magic meet the straight lines and angles that made up the portal. Those lines seemed to form a complex shape, reaching out to a point that defied traditional 3-dimensional geometry. At both ends of the portal she felt the complicated web that was the spell that turned ponies into humans and vice versa, but she didn't want to interfere with that.

Twilight pulled back slightly, into an area of the portal that was between both the pony-to-human spell and human-to-pony spell. If she was doing this right, neither spell would trigger, keeping ponies as ponies and humans as humans.

She was about to start tearing when she felt something from the other side of the portal. Reaching strands of power came into contact with her own, and she distantly felt a smile form on her face as she recognized Sunset's unique brand of power. The girl would be on the other side, manipulating the Equestrian magics brought by the Elements of Harmony. Twilight wrapped her magic around Sunset's, and felt her do the same.

Odd, Twilight thought. It feels weirdly like a hug. An inter-dimensional, magical, hug.

The two reached out into the impossible lines of the portal, and slowly pushed on the strands, building a sort of pocket in the mirror. They continued to push, straining to create a large enough space. It felt like pulling on an entire mountain, but Sunset's strength reinforced her own and together, they shifted the lines away, creating the necessary space.

Now came the hard part. They reached out with intertwined lances of power, and very carefully, almost surgically, began to make an incision in the dimensional barrier. They cut a sharp cube out of the empty space, and there, surrounded by incomprehensible angles, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer created a new universe.

It was a small one, more of a pocket universe than anything, but it was exactly what they wanted. Twilight slowly retracted her magic, feeling Sunset do the same. They slipped out of their magic hug, and returned to their bodies.

Twilight jumped, snapping back to consciousness with a start. She blinked, eyes refocusing on the interior of her castle library. She turned her attention back to the mirror, and her eyes widened in shock.

The mirror looked different than when she had begun. Instead of the smooth, flat, and silvery surface that she had seen every time she went the portal, she was now faced with a very odd image. The mirror looked less like a mirror, and more like a window, looking out on an expanse of whiteness. Despite the lack of color, Twilight could tell that it was 3-dimensional, not 2-dimensional.

I guess I know that because I made it She thought with a smirk.

She was interrupted by Sunset's journal, which was somehow stuck under her leg. She pulled it out from under her, and flipped it open. She read the message that appeared on the page.

How'd it turn out on your end? The statue base is looking a little weird over here.

She wasted no time in replying

I think it worked. The mirror has changed to look like a window of sorts. It it the same there?

The journal glowed as Sunset's reply appeared.

Yep. It looks like it's looking out on whiteness. Man, this is gonna be hard to cover up on Monday.

Twilight let out a very un-scholarly giggle at that, then began to scribble her next question.

Great. I think we've completed the first step. Now, what do you say we go take a look at our handiwork?

She read Sunset's reply, and then rolled her eyes.

What, you don't want to read some more books first, Sparkle?

She jotted down two words in reply.

Shut up.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight stepped up to the Crystal Mirror- or was it window now? She lifted her foreleg and slowly moved it forward, until her hoof touched the surface. It was cool to the touch, and felt slick but fragile, like the surface of a bubble. Twilight walked forward a little more, and stuck her face into it. The portal resisted, holding her back. She pushed forward, and with a surge of strength, pushed through the surface.

Suddenly, she felt like she was falling sideways, upside-down and forwards all at once. She tried to brace her legs for the impact, but before she was able to get ready, she felt herself landing on something oddly smooth. She looked up, and while blinking her eyes, used a hoof to push her mane out of her face.

Wait, hoof?

She shakily stood up, and looked back at herself. Yes, she was still a pony! That part had worked. As she was looking behind her, she caught sight of the portal. Unlike on either side of the original portal, all she could see of the mirror was a shiny, vaguely oval shape, that held a distorted view of crystal walls and bookcases. Twilight's library.

She pulled her gaze away from the portal, and turned to look at the other side of the portal. There, she saw a similar blurred window-like surface, but she couldn't see the other side of it very clearly, due to the rapidly approaching blur of red and yellow. She walked forward as Sunset Shimmer was unceremoniously dumped out of the portal. The definitely human girl stumbled, and fell onto her hands and knees.

"Sunset!" Twilight galloped over to Sunset as she attempted to climb back to her feet.

"Oh, hey Twilight. That transition's pretty disorientati- Woah!" Sunset lifted her head, eyes going wide as she saw Twilight. She raised a hand to rub her neck. "Sorry, it's just, I haven't seen a pony in a very long time. I'm sorry for freaking out like that."

"It's no problem," Twilight reassured her. "I'm glad to see that the portal kept our forms unchanged."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "What, you're not glad to see me?" She laughed at the surprise and embarrassment on Twilight's face.

"I–it's not– I– I'm glad to see you, Sunset. Now can we get back to figuring out this new dimension?"

"Sure, sure. Just a minute. I want to see how tall a pony is compared to a human." Sunset walked right up to Twilight. "Can you lift your head to a normal position?" Twilight complied, and Sunset used her hand to measure the distance. The top of Twilight's head, minus her horn, came up to just above Sunset's sternum. "I bet if you stood on two legs, we'd be about equal height" Sunset mused. She seemed to snap back to reality. "So why's this place all white?" Sunset tilted her head back and tried to see how tall the area was.

"I think it's because we haven't put anything here yet. There's no ambient magic, so we'll have to bring that in from Equestria. Then, once we have magic, we can start to form matter in here." Twilight said.

"So, if there's no ambient magic here, I'm assuming you'll have to go back through the portal in order to make it work?" Sunset frowned. "This place is so empty, it's kinda creepy."

"I might not even have to go back through the portal." Twilight trotted back to the gateway to Equestria. "I think, if I just make contact with the portal..." She leaned forwards, and gently pushed the tip of her horn into the mirror-like surface. "Now I just need to concentrate, and, there!" She beamed as she felt the familiar warmth of unicorn magic flow into her. It felt like a great glowing lake, pulsating with energy. She carefully pulled a net of it through the portal, and stretched it through the pocket universe.

Once the area was fully covered in a net of power, Twilight reached deeper. She pushed past the familiar unicorn magic, and felt for the passive powers she possessed as an alicorn. In her mind, she felt pegasus magic, whipping about like a storm, yet somehow bound and controlled. She reached back into Equestria, and saw the true power of pegasus magic.

It was like a storm cloud, overshadowing everything and sparking with power. She reached for it, and pulled a small chunk of the power through the portal. It was similar to how it felt when Rainbow Dash tried to teach her how to shape clouds. She drew the power into the space, and released it. It pushed outwards, filling the space with smell of rain. Twilight felt her wings twitch, and become lighter, ready to pull her into the air, should she wish it.

With beads of sweat rolling down her face, Twilight felt the last magic she was looking for. Earth pony power, strong, unyielding, and tough. Once again, she reached out, and tried to pull on the power it offered. Nothing happened. Her horn erupted with a fountain of power as she attempted to haul earth pony power through the portal. Still nothing.

"...Twilight? Are you okay?" Sunset's voice echoed distantly behind her. Twilight ignored it for the moment. She needed to get all three kinds of Equestrian magic through to the pocket dimension! She strained, pulling with everything she had. Her legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed, the shock causing her to lose control of the power. She groaned, rolling onto her back.

"That didn't work as well as I hoped." Her voice sounded weak.

"Twilight, what did you try to do?" Concern was evident in Sunset's voice.

"I tried to bring earth pony magic into this universe. It didn't want to move." Twilight rolled back onto her side, and tried to push herself into a standing position.

"And you're going to try again? After you just collapsed from exhaustion?" An idea seemed to come to Sunset. "Twilight, how were you trying to move the earth pony magic?"

"With unicorn magic, I guess. It worked well enough for pegasus magic." Shakily, the tired alicorn rose into a standing position. "Why? Do you think I should try something else? I can't control the other magics like I can with unicorn power."

"Well, what if you tried mixing the two? I'm no alicorn, but using the control of unicorn magic, and wrapping it in earth pony magic to give you strength, should be able to help with that."

"That... that could work." Twilight appeared deep in thought. "I guess I can try that." Seeing Sunset's worried look, she hurriedly added "And don't worry, I won't overextend myself." She took a deep breath, and reached out with unicorn magic. This time, however, she felt at her own earth pony powers, and carefully added them to the mix of magic. Her control of the magic seemed off, somehow, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She reached out with the blend of power and once again felt at Equestria's earth pony power. This time, instead of trying to shift the whole thing, it felt like she was coaxing it, growing it like a plant. She led the tendril of power through the portal, and brought it into the space. Still using her earth pony power, she made it grow, reaching out like roots of a tree and filling the space with invisible tendrils of energy.

"Did it work?" Sunset's voice broke the silence.

"Yeah. Yeah it did." Twilight's voice still sounded tired, but less, like working with the earth pony magic had rejuvenated her, instead of draining her. "Sunset, do you need some sort of magic field from your world? The leftover power of the Elements?"

"I'm not really sure. Hold on a minute." Sunset's eyes closed and she grimaced, concentration etched across her features. "Ugh. Nothing. I think I do need some sort of power." She walked over to the portal to Canterlot High, and stuck her hand in it. Immediately, a red glow began to shine around her, and she grew pony ears and a long ponytail. She raised her other hand, and waved it, sending streams of glowing power cascading into the air. She pulled her hand away from the portal, but the glow and pony features did not vanish.

"Should you still be glowing?" Twilight asked

"I don't think so." Sunset replied. "Normally, when I pony up like this, it only lasts for as long as I'm doing whatever caused it. Either I'm still doing something, which I don't think I am, or the increased density of the magic field has the power to sustain a semipermanent transformation"

"That does make sense." Twilight said thoughtfully. "So now that we've brought magic, we should start shaping this place to be a little more comfortable."

"Sounds like a plan." Sunset agreed. "Let's do this together." She reached out, and a glowing stream of red power floated towards Twilight. The alicorn focused, her own purple magic coalescing and wrapping around Sunset's. The two turned, and looked out at the white space that surrounded them.

Twilight felt the space in her mind. Even though it appeared empty, the space was full of power, flowing and washing around. She guided the conjoined stream of magic outwards, and the magic field responded. Twilight grabbed the power, and converted it from energy, to matter. The white ground shook, and abruptly grew dirt and grass, pushing the two girls up as nothing became something. Blue bloomed in the air, spreading out like water and creating a sky. Trees grew around the border, leaving the two standing in what looked like a forest clearing. Looking around, Twilight saw common Equestrian trees, along with what she assumed must have been trees from the human world. In the center of the space, another tree grew, but unlike the ones on the border, this one grew windows, lights, and a door. In about a mintue, it looked like Twilight's old library.

Twilight felt a lump rise in her throat as she looked at the familiar structure. She liked her castle, but the library was her first home in Ponyville. Seeing it again caused her to remember all the good memories she had associated with the place.

Sunset must have noticed the look on her face. "Twilight? Are you alright? What is this treehouse?"

"It's a replica of my old library." Twilight choked out. "It was destroyed a while ago, but seeing it reminded me, well, of a lot of good memories."

"Are you going to be okay?" Sunset walked over to the purple alicorn and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, just take a deep breath. We can change the treehouse if you want to."

"No," Twilight took a deep breath. "I want to keep the treehouse. I'm sorry, I just needed to get under control. I'm good now."

"Great." Sunset smiled. "Why don't we go inside and check it out?" The two walked through the door, Sunset's arm still around Twilight. The inside of the treehouse was not a library, but rather an open room with a variety of couches and chairs spread around it. Twilight could clearly see that some of the chairs were pony-shaped, while others seemed more suited to humans. Twilight trotted forward and flopped down on a couch. Sunset decided to take a seat in one of the human-shaped chairs.

"So," Twilight broke the silence. "How's life at Canterlot High?"

"It's been pretty quiet." Sunset admitted. "No large magical invasions or disasters. The girls and I have been doing pretty normal high school stuff. Going to the Sweet Shoppe after school, helping Fluttershy at the animal shelter, cheering Rainbow Dash on at her games, stuff like that. Anything special happen in Equestria?"

"Not really." Twilight smiled. "There haven't been any problems lately. Just a couple friendship problems around Ponyville, nothing special. Applebuck season's coming up soon, so we're all making sure Applejack doesn't try to do it all by herself again."

Sunset chuckled at that. "She tried to do that once?"

"Yeah." Twilight smiled wryly at the memory. "Big Mac wasn't able to help, so she tried to do it on her own. Nearly ran herself to death trying to do that on top of helping me and the others out." Twilight's eyes focused. "Speaking of our friends, do you think we should bring them into this place?"

"Totally. It would be really cool to introduce them to their pony or human counterparts. We may just want to make sure no one else is present when Pinkie meets Pinkie."

A look of mock horror crossed Twilight's face. "I hadn't thought of that. We may want to evacuate all of Ponyville and the area around Canterlot High before that happens."

Sunset smirked at the comment. "So who do you think we should have meet their counterpart first? I'm saying right off the bat- not Pinkie Pie."

"Well, I think the best thing to do would be to think about what's probably going to happen." Twilight visibly went into 'science mode'. "Fluttershy would either be terrified of her counterpart, whether it's human or pony, or she would find them adorable. So we might want to gauge the other's reactions first. Applejack would probably be pretty good with herself, and end up talking about farming in different dimensions."

"That does sound like them." Sunset nodded as she spoke. "Rarity... I'm not sure what Rarity would do. Probably end up talking about how pony fashion differs from human fashion, and possibly try to use herself as a model. So she might be okay to go first, though to the human Rarity, ponies going about without clothes might be a bit of a shock. And then we've got Rainbow Dash. She'd probably end up competing with herself over something ridiculous, having conversations that involved entirely too many uses of the word awesome."

"True. Very true," Twilight mused. "Hey Sunset, I just thought of something. Did you ever find your human counterpart?"

"No." Sunset's reply was curt. "I didn't. Anyways, what do you think we should do? Go back to our respective friends and discuss it with them?"

"Sounds like a plan." Twilight stretched, and got up out of the chair. "It was great to see you, Sunset. I'll keep in touch through the journal, okay?"

"Sounds good to me." Sunset lazily got up as well. "It was great to see you too, Twilight. I'll let you know what my friends say. See you soon."

"See you soon." Twilight walked over to Sunset, and standing up on her back legs, wrapped for forelegs around Sunset in a friendly hug. "Goodbye."

"Bye, Twi." Sunset returned the hug, and then pulled back. She waved as she walked through the door, and back towards her portal. Twilight smiled, watching Sunset slowly shrink in her vision. She realized that the 'pony-up' had never worn off, but that didn't really matter. The girl touched the portal, and abruptly vanished, speeding back to her dimension.

Twilight trotted out the open door, and walked back to the portal to her castle. She smiled as she wondered what her friends would think when she told them she was going to introduce them to their other selves.

She couldn't wait to see their reactions.

Author's Note

Hi, all!

Thanks for reading. I'm glad you took the time to check out this little fic I wrote. It's an idea that's been bouncing off my skull for a while now.

If anyone sees any mistakes I made, has any ideas for how I could improve my characterization, or just wants to say something, I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments.

Thanks!

Chapter 1: Applejack

The In-Between Place
Chapter 1: Applejack
By Voidbinder

Twilight Sparkle, the creator of a new dimension, fell out of the portal and flat on her face. She groaned, and rubbed her muzzle with her hoof as she climbed back to her feet. She turned her head, and caught a quick glance of a blurry landscape through the portal, before she trotted away and through her castle. She wove through the hallways, making her way to the front door. She reached out with magic and pushed it open, and smiled as she felt the sun shine onto her face. Staring out across Ponyville, she felt a buzz of excitement grow in her chest.

She needed to gather her friends.

An hour later, five of the Elements of Harmony were gathered in Twilight's castle, relaxing on their respective thrones. Applejack had taken her hat off and was idly spinning it on her hoof, Pinkie Pie was bouncing on the cushion of her throne with impossible energy, Fluttershy and Rarity were chatting idly, and Rainbow Dash was, unsurprisingly, napping. The doors at the end of the room burst open, and a certain purple alicorn walked through.

"Oh, good! Everypony's here!" Twilight grinned as she took a seat at her own throne.

"Yes, we're all here. Now Twilight, what was it that you called us here for? I do hope it's something important." Rarity said.

"Well, you remember when I told you about my friends at Canterlot High in the other world?" Twilight asked.

"You mean the one with Sunset Shimmer an' all those Sirens and what-not?" Applejack asked. "The one where there's different versions of all of us?"

"Yes," Twilight smiled and she prepared what to say next. "And you remember when I said that it's probably too confusing for you to come through?"

"What're you getting at, Twi-i-i-light?" Rainbow Dash yawned as she spoke, evidently sleepy from her nap.

"Well, Sunset and I designed a way for you guys to visit yourselves from that world, without causing any inter-dimensional problems!" Twilight beamed. Dead silence followed the pronouncement, only to be shattered by the sound of an energetic yell. Twilight's vision was abruptly blocked by a mass of pink slamming into her.

"You mean I can meet another version of ME? And we can talk and laugh and have a party TOGETHER?" Pinkie bounced off of Twilight, and practically levitated in wide circles around the room. Twilight blinked twice, still looking confused as to what exactly had just transpired.

"Yes, Pinkie. You can meet another version of you. Sunset and I think you all should meet yourselves one on one, so we're trying to decide who should go first. The instant the words left her, a cacophony erupted as everypony tried to convince Twilight they should be the one to go first, overwhelming her with a mess of voices so loud she couldn't understand them. Twilight tried to back up, her just ran into her throne. Frantically, she reached with her magic, and cast a quick teleportation spell, sending her to the opposite side of the room.

Twilight took a deep breath. "Will everypony just LET ME EXPLAIN!" she yelled. Silence fell as her friends turned to look at her, shock and a little bit of shame clearly visible on their faces.

"Um, we're sorry, Twilight," Fluttershy's voice was barely audible, even in the silence. "I guess we just got excited at the idea."

"It's alright." Twilight reassured them. "I just want to explain. All of you are going to get as long as you want to meet your other self, it's just that Sunset and I wanted to send someone careful-"

"That's you out, RD." Applejack mumbled. Her face went red as everypony turned to look at her. "Sorry, Twi. Ah didn't mean to interrupt."

Twilight nodded, and then continued explaining. "As I was saying, someone careful and level-headed, simply to make sure that meeting yourself isn't at all traumatic or frightening. Sunset's probably talking about it right now with her friends, and I'll let her know what we think."

"Sounds fair." Rainbow interjected. "Completely ignoring AJ's comment, I guess that means that I won't be first?" Her ears drooped a little as she spoke.

"Actually," Twilight said brightly. "I was thinking you'd be one of the least likely to freak out at seeing yourself, so you might be the first." Rainbow smiled at that, and flapped her wings slightly, lifting her about a foot off the ground.

"So who d'you think's gonna go first?" Applejack asked.

"I think it could be either you or Rainbow, since you both want to." Twilight nodded. "I'll just go write to Sunset Shimmer and see how she's doing on the other side." The journal was enveloped in a glowing purple aura, and floated over to Twilight. She flipped it open, grabbed a pen in her magic, and began writing.

Hi, Sunset. We're thinking about sending Applejack or Rainbow Dash first over here. What about you guys?

"Well, now we just have to wait for Sunset to reply." Twilight closed the book and set it back down.

"Twilight," Rarity spoke up. "Suppose Sunset Shimmer writes back that both Applejack and Rainbow Dash are the most likely choices on their side as well. What will you do?"

"Knowing those two," Twilight smirked. "I'm assuming a hoof-wrestle will be in order."

"Hey!" Rainbow yelled.

"What, you think she's wrong?" Applejack gave Rainbow a friendly punch as she spoke.

"Well, uh, I didn't say that..." Rainbow Dash trailed off as she finished.

"I'm sure we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Twilight said. A couple of seconds lated, everypony heard a telltale buzz, and they turned to look at the journal. It once again floated towards Twilight, who opened it and read the latest entry.

"I'll read it aloud. She says 'hi everyone, over here we've had a pretty similar conclusion, though we were thinking more along the lines of Applejack or Rarity. I asked Rainbow, but she said she wanted to get something from her house.' Rarity, hmm." She looked up at the white unicorn. "Rarity? Do you want to?"

"It's perfectly alright, darling." Rarity smiled slightly. "While I'm glad for the offer, I think it would be best for Applejack to have the honor."

"It's settled then." Twilight said with a satisfied smile. "Applejack will be the first to go. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, sugarcube." Applejack adjusted her hat. "S'not every day Ah get to meet myself." With that, she walked over to Twilight and let her lead her to the mirror. As she walked away, she could faintly hear Dash talking to somepony.

"Now what do you think the other me had to go get?"

Applejack fell out of the portal and onto what felt like soft grass. She grumbled as she pushed herself back onto her feet, reaching a hand up to fix her hat. As she lifted her arm, she noticed something odd. There seemed to be a faint orange glow coming off of her skin, and she faintly felt the same feeling of energy she got whenever she ponied up. She brushed her hand through her hair, and felt pony ears poking up.

Huh. Ah didn't do anything particularly honest, or play any music, so why in the world am I ponying up? She shrugged, and ignored it for now. She'd have to ask Sunset about it when she got back.

She looked around, and was greeted with what appeared to be a large clearing in a forest. In the center of the clearing was another tree, but this appeared to have windows and a door in it like some crazy treehouse. Glancing up, she saw a clear blue sky. The position of the sun looked to her like it was early afternoon, but without knowing east or west in this place she couldn't be sure. She didn't even know if there was east or west here. Sunset's explanation as she led Applejack to the portal had been rushed, and more than a little confusing.

Sunset said that there was going to be a pony version of me here, but Ah don't see anything. Could she be behind that giant tree? Applejack began to walk to the right of the tree, trying to get a look at the other side. She saw a strange circle on the other side of the tree that reminded her of the portal, as well as a brief flash of orange and yellow that vanished around the side of the tree.

What was that? She wondered. "Hey!" she called. "Anyone out there?" Then, something, or someone, or somepony, as Sunset sometimes said when talking about Equestrian, came walking out from around the tree. She was expecting the pony to look like a smaller horse, like the ones on the farm, but this was different. She looked much more human than Applejack was expecting, with a rounded face, large, forward-facing eyes, and a small muzzle. And she looked like Applejack. Her coat was a similar color compared to Applejack's skin, same hay-yellow hair, and same treasured Stetson hat. The pony Applejack stopped, her eyes widening briefly as she saw human Applejack. Then she broke out into an infectious smile.

"Howdy there! Ah'm Applejack!" At that she chuckled. "But Ah guess you're Applejack too!" Applejack returned the smile as she heard her pony self's greeting. It sounded exactly like her.

"Howdy Applejack! You bet Ah'm Applejack too. Though it feels kinda funny to say that." She reached out a hand, and the pony Applejack reached out a hoof. It looked like these ponies shook hands, or hooves, as well, because Applejack was getting a true Apple family greeting- from herself.

"Us both calling each other Applejack is going to get really confusing." the human Applejack said. "How 'bout Ah call you Applejack, and you can jus' call me AJ. Seems like if anyone can use my nickname, it's myself."

"Sounds good, sugarcube." Applejack smirked. "Or AJ, Ah guess."

"So, uh," AJ began. "Is there a Sweet Apple Acres in your world?" Then she grimaced slightly. "Sorry, that felt like a dumb question."

"Nevermind that." Applejack said. "And yes, there is a Sweet Apple Acres in my world. Ah run it with Big Mac. Is that the same with you?"

"Sorta," AJ replied. "Ah don't run it, not yet. Ah'm only in high school. Aren't you?"

"What?" A decidedly confused look had appeared on Applejack's face. "You're still in high school? How old are you?"

"18, just had my birthday recently." AJ looked at her pony double. "How old are you?"

"Ah'm 23, and just had my birthday too." Applejack's confused look remained. "Ah wonder why our ages are different."

"Ah dunno. Doesn't seem to make much sense." AJ said. "So, uh what do you talk about to your dimensional double anyways?"

"No idea." Applejack replied. "What Ah do know is that Ah don't really want to spend the whole time standing around next to the big tree house. Though," she used a hoof to break open the ground. "Whatever Twi did here, it made good farming soil."

"Let me see that." AJ knelt down, and broke through the grass with her fingers. She ran some of the dirt through her hand, and grinned at her pony counterpart. "Ah'll agree with that. Ah should ask Sunset if Ah could some apple trees in here. She'd probably be able to control the weather too."

"The weather? Oh yeah, y'all don't have pegasi in your world, do you?" Applejack said, still feeling the dirt.

"Pegasi? Oh yeah, Sunset mentioned that they control weather in Equestria. No, we don't have any fancy stuff like that back on the farm. Ah won't deny that that sure would be nice, though." AJ answered.

"Yeah, having pegasi really helps with keepin' everything runnin' smoothly." Applejack said. "Course, it would be better if Rainbow Dash can bother to do her job on time instead of practicin' her stunts." At that, AJ threw back her head and laughed.

"Ah can totally see Rainbow doing that. She's your weather-pegasus?" AJ said as soon as her laughter died down.

"Weatherpony, yeah. Ah guess some things stay the same across dimensions, from Rainbow's laziness to Pinkie's reality-bending... Pinkieness." Applejack smiled as she talked.

"Yeah," AJ replied. "Or Rarity's crazy skill at making dresses, and then practically giving them away. Or Fluttershy and her ability to communicate with animals, and lack of ability to communicate with anyone she doesn't know." Applejack looked confused for a second, and mumbled something to herself, then shrugged.

"Twilight told me about the first time she met Fluttershy, and how she could barely hear the poor mare say her name. She's gotten better, but still won't talk to just anypony." Now it was AJ's turn to look confused, and whisper something that sounded like "anypony?" to herself, but she shrugged it off as well. A sneaky grin snuck across her face.

"Do you think you can convince Twilight to let you get an apple sapling through the portal?" She asked Applejack.

"Probably," the farmpony replied. "You think Sunset'll let you?"

"Maybe," the farmgirl said. "Ah do think this little place that Sunset and Twilight created could use a little personal touch..." Twin excited smiles grew on the two remarkably similar faces.

Author's Note

Hello, again!

Man, this was a lot harder to write than the prologue. (Is it a problem when the prolouge's longer than the first chapter? I think it's a problem.) Who would have thought that writing dialogue between two characters who are the same person/pony and have pretty much the same life experiences would be so hard?

Whatever. I'm hoping the next chapter is going to be easier to write. It'll be Rainbow Dash, who's one of my favorite characters, so that'll probably be out sooner.

Thanks for reading! -Voidbinder

Chapter 2: Rainbow Dash

Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the Rainbooms stood in a rough half-circle around the statue in front of Canterlot High. Rainbow had a large duffel bag resting on her shoulder, and was directly in front of the portal. She stared at the statue's base with a far-away look in her magenta eyes.

"Are you ready, Dash?" Sunset asked, glancing over at the slightly nervous but excited- nervouscited? girl next to her. Rainbow had run off before Applejack had gone through the portal, yelling over her shoulder that she had to grab something from her house. She had only shown up a few minutes ago, carrying a sports bag, and Sunset had just received confirmation from Twilight that they were ready to go on the Equestria side of the portal.

"Ready." Rainbow cleared her throat, and hesitantly stepped up to the statue base. She pressed a hand against it, watching the ripples of energy that washed off of the strange, window-like surface. She looked behind her and gave the girls a broad smile. "See you guys later! I have to go meet a pretty awesome pony- myself!" With that, she stepped back, and threw herself bodily through the portal.

"Woah!" Rainbow yelled as she flew through the seemingly solid surface. Bright flashing colors stretched across her vision, and she felt dizzy, like she was tumbling head over heels into a bizarre kaleidoscope of light and motion.

Then, with a pop!, she was thrown out of the vortex, and landed on her back on soft grass. She unsteadily climbed to her feet, and tried to take stock of where she was. She was amazed to find herself surrounded by tall trees, which ended in a large clearing with a even larger tree in the middle. "That was awesome." she whispered to herself.

As she looked around, she felt a strange sensation. A wash of energy seemed to pour down onto her from above, cascading down her body and energizing her. When the strange energy passed through her torso, she felt a pushing sensation, and a familiar pair of wings sprouted from her back. Running a hand over her hair, she felt pony ears poking up out of her scalp. "This. Is. EVEN MORE AWESOME!" she yelled, and gave an experimental flap. She lifted off the ground, and with a yell of joy, soared into the sky above.

Rainbow Dash came rocketing out of the portal, and bounced along the ground for a couple of feet.

"Ugh." the sky blue pegasus mumbled to herself. "I really shouldn't have flown through that thing. That was weird." She stood back up, stretching her hooves out and made sure she hadn't messed up any feathers with that tumble. She used her mouth to straighten a couple twisted primaries, and then looked around, trying to see where she was.

Twilight had said something about a treehouse, and looking forward, she saw what looked like the old Ponyville library. She smiled at the many fond memories of crashing into that place before its destruction. I bet that's what Twi was talking about. she thought, and lazily flapped her wings, took off, and flew towards the building.

As she ascended, feeling the wind rush through her mane, she heard a yell coming from the other side of the treehouse. She flew in a wide arc over the top of the clearing, and saw something very strange. Some... thing with wings was trying to fly. She flew closer, and noticed that the weird creature had the same mane, and skin the color of her fur. Huh. So that's what these 'humans' Twi keeps going on are like. It, or I guess she, looks kinda like a really skinny minotaur with a squashed pony face.

She swooped down to what could only be her other self and wrapped her in her hooves, just as the human her started to fall. "Hold on!" Rainbow called as she tried to steady the still-flailing girl. Sweet Celestia, she's heavier than I was expecting! The two Rainbow Dashes tumbled through the air, the pegasus trying to find some sort of breeze to steady herself while the human flapped her wings disorientedly. They half-landed, half-tumbled onto the ground, and Rainbow rolled onto her back, panting heavily at the exertion of trying to fly while carrying something about as heavy as she was. It was then that the other her spoke up.

"He-hey. Thanks for, y'know, grabbing me." She even sounded like Rainbow, but maybe a couple of years younger.

"No problem." Rainbow forced out between breaths. "So I guess you're the other me that Twilight was talking about?" The girl rolled onto her side and looked over at Rainbow.

"Yeah, I'm Rainbow Dash. The human one, I guess." She grinned, and gave Rainbow a little wave.

"Nice to meet you, me." Rainbow stuck out a hoof, and the other her gave her a hoof-bump. Or maybe a hoof-fist-bump. She didn't know. Rainbow rolled over, and took a closer look at the human girl next to her. Same mane, same colors, same eyes, but shaped differently than a pony. She was actually shaped a little bit like Discord without a tail, except, well, made out of one type of creature.

"So..." the human trailed off. Rainbow decided just to think of her as 'Dash'.

"Yeah?" the pony Rainbow replied.

"I feel kinda silly about falling out of the sky like that."

"It's no big deal. How often do you fly?"

"Well, never really. I usually only get wings when I'm playing guitar or a few other times."

"You play guitar? Nevermind. You're saying that you don't always have wings? Then why do you have them now?"

"I dunno, they just popped up when I came through the portal. I didn't really question it, I just started to fly."

"And then you fell."

"Yeah. Can we forget about that?"

"Sure. I know I wouldn't want anypony to hear about me falling."

"Did you just say anypony?"

"Uh, yeah? You don't- oh right, not a pony. What do you say? Anyhuman?"

"No, we just say anybody or anyone."

"Huh. That's really weird."

"Think about how weird it is to hear you say anypony."

"I guess you're right. Say, me, since you haven't got the hang of those wings yet, want me to help you figure 'em out?"

"That sounds awesome! But wait, I wanted to know. Do you play soccer?"

"...What's soccer?"

"You've never heard of soccer!?" Dash's voice suddenly jumped in pitch, making Rainbow jump. "You're telling me that you've never played soccer?"

"Uh, no? I don't think so?" This appeared to be the wrong answer, as Dash reached over and grabbed Rainbow by the withers, jarring her slightly.

"Stay right here! I gotta grab something!" With that, Dash raced off back towards the portal to the human world. She obviously wasn't used to running with wings, as she kept them held out almost straight as she went, accidentally slowing herself down and throwing off her balance. Rainbow jumped into the air and took after her, wings beating a steady rhythm against her sides. She quickly caught up to the girl, and slowed down a little, keeping herself gliding alongside her counterpart.

"You're gonna keep throwing yourself off if you run like that!" she yelled.

"I know how to run just fine!" she sounded a little insulted now.

Rainbow smacked her forehead with a hoof. "I mean your wings! You're holding them out almost extended, pull them against your sides and you'll stop slowing down!" Thankfully she listened, and folded down her wings, pressing them against her back. Immediately, she lurched forward, unbalanced by the burst of speed. "You're not going to fall on me again, are you?" Rainbow joked.

"Hey! That was one time!"

"In the space of... oh probably five minutes." Rainbow couldn't resist a little more joking around. Dash looked over at her and rolled her eyes.

"I thought you said it wasn't a big deal!"

"Okay, fine, you win." They arrived at the Canterlot High portal. Dash stopped for a minute, breathing hard. "So what's this soccer thing anyways?" Rainbow took advantage of the silence between them to ask again.

"Well, you have, y'know, sports in ponyland right?" Dash asked.

"What, like hoofball? Yeah, I guess. I don't pay much attention to them, though. I prefer flying to that stuff."

"Um, alright. So do you have a sport where there are two teams, and one ball, and each team tries to get the ball into a goal on the other team's side?"

"I dunno. I don't think so." Rainbow was trying to picture this 'soccer' in her head as she spoke.

"Dang it." Dash sounded put out. "I thought it would be awesome to play soccer with myself, but if you don't know how, that's fine."

"Hey, don't be like that." Rainbow gave her shoulder a friendly punch. "I bet you could teach me. Here- tell you what. You teach me how to play soccer, and I'll help you with your flying. Deal?"

Dash gave her a grateful smile. "Deal."

So, Rainbow Dash taught Rainbow Dash how to play soccer. Though the sun in the sky never moved, they played for what felt like an hour. They argued a little about whether or not Rainbow could use her forelegs, or if they counted as arms, but eventually, the two agreed that she could use her forelegs to dribble the ball down the field, since it let her move more naturally, but she had to pass and shoot with her back legs. Rainbow turned out to be pretty good at soccer, which Dash said wasn't that surprising, since they were the same person, or pony, after all.

As they played, they talked about their respective lives on either side of the portal. Like the two Applejacks before them, they were surprised to find that they were different ages, and Dash was still in school. Eventually, the conversation turned to Rainbow's job. They had decided to take a quick breather, and were sitting next to each other in the grass when the subject came up.

"So if you're not in school any more, what do you do? Y'know, for a job?" Dash asked.

"For a job? Well, I work as the head of the Weather Team in Ponyville, and- why are you laughing?" Rainbow turned to glance at Dash.

"Nothing. Keep going." Dash was struggling to stifle her laughter. "Ponyville." she muttered under her breath.

"Like I was saying, I'm the head of the Weather Team in Ponyville. I generally coordinate the weather, make sure everywhere's getting enough rain, but not too much, and keeping track of any stray clouds that come in from the Everfree Forest." Rainbow explained.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that you can control the weather?" A look of pure excitement bloomed on Dash's face.

"Uh, yeah? Any pegasus can." Rainbow looked like she was explaining that the sky was blue. "Why, can't humans in your world?"

"No! Nobody can control the weather in my world! That's so cool!" An idea struck Dash. "Do you think I can control weather? With these wings?"

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Rainbow slapped her double on the back with a hoof. "C'mon, now we really need to get those wings of yours working!"

Now it was Rainbow's turn to teach Dash how to do something. She ran some basic workouts, and it seemed the wings that Dash grew were pretty fit. The feathers were a little messed up, probably from the crash when they first came through the portal, but Rainbow helped her straighten them out again. Dash even had decent flying instincts. It seemed the only problem was she hadn't learned the basics of flight, something that her pegasus double was more than happy to teach her. Before long, the two Rainbow Dashes were soaring side-by-side through the air of the little dimension.

"Isn't this awesome?" Rainbow yelled over the sound of the wind flowing past her.

"This is the coolest thing EVER!" Dash yelled back, grinning like crazy. She seemed unfazed by the fact she was a couple hundred feet in the air, suspended only by wings that shouldn't have been able to lift her. Rainbow blamed it on adrenaline.

"So you want to try pushing some clouds around?" she asked.

"Sure!"

They darted over to a nice puffy cumulus that was hovering almost dead-center above the treehouse. Rainbow swooped over to it, and, drawing her pegasus magic into her hooves, pushed on it lightly. Her hooves sunk in just slightly, and the cloud drifted a few feet forward. It would do perfectly.

"Ok, Dash," she called. "Come over here, and try pushing on this cloud. Remember, do it lightly, don't try to break it or anything." Nodding, Dash lightly flapped her wings, propelling herself over to where the cloud hung in the sky. She held her hands in front of her, squinted in concentration, and gave it a gentle shove. At first, it seemed to work. Her hands sunk in just a couple of inches, and the cloud began to drift forward. However, her hands seemed to lose grip, and she overbalanced, tumbling face-first into the soft water vapor. She managed to recover, and flew back up to eye-level with Rainbow.

"What the heck happened?" she asked. "I thought it was working!"

"I don't know." Rainbow admitted. "Were you channeling magic?"

"What now?"

"Y'know, were you channeling pegasus magi- oh, you probably don't know. Sorry. I should've explained that. When you're working with clouds, you've got to feel the pegasus magic in you, it feels kinda electric, and then push it out through your hooves, or hands I guess, so that you can touch the clouds without going through them. It's how I do this." With that, Rainbow hopped onto the cloud and sat down, the cloud somehow supporting her. "See?"

"Um, ok. Like this?" Dash scrunched up her face, clearly focusing, and reached out with a tentative hand. She carefully poked the cloud, which lazily drifted at her touch. "I did it!" Relief spread across her face. "It worked!"

"That's awesome!" Rainbow congratulated her. Her ears twitched on the sides of her head, and she turned over her shoulder, searching for the faint noise she had heard.

"Rainbow Dash!" it sounded like someone was calling faintly from by the Canterlot High portal.

"Hold on a minute." Rainbow called to Dash as she took off, accelerating instantly, feeling the wind rush through her mane. She skidded to a stop next to the portal, and saw another human, one with a orange skin and red and yellow mane. The newcomer did a double-take at seeing Rainbow, but shook her head and smiled.

"You're the pony Rainbow Dash?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow nodded. "You're Sunset Shimmer?"

"Uh-huh. Listen, I just wanted to know how much longer you two are planning on hanging around here. I'm starting to look pretty suspicious, hanging around the portal like this."

"It's cool." Rainbow answered. "We'll be done soon, I guess we just lost track of time. Me and Dash were playing soccer, and then I was teaching her to fly, and then... yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck guiltily.

"That sounds pretty fun." Sunset grinned. "Tell my Rainbow that she needs to get back over here soon."

"Will do." Rainbow saluted, and prepared to take off. "See ya, Shimmer."

"It's funny how similar the two of you act." Sunset laughed.

Rainbow launched back into the skies, zipping back over to Dash, who in the meantime had tried sitting on the cloud, and was clearly finding it very comfortable.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"It was Sunset Shimmer." Rainbow replied. "She wanted to say something about you needing to leave."

"Ugh," Dash grunted. "Fun-killer."

"Say, before you leave, there's something I want to try." Rainbow spoke suddenly.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Just grab my forelegs, and try to keep up." Rainbow reached out, and Dash grabbed her forelegs in her hands. Rainbow began flying upwards, slowly at first, and Dash joined her, keeping pace. They steadily accelerated, climbing higher and higher into the sky.

"What are we doing?" Dash called.

"You'll see!" Rainbow called back, her voice full of excitement. Do we have enough height to do it yet? she thought. I'd better go a little higher, just to make sure. "Alright! When I say go, turn around and fly downwards as fast as you can. Don't try flapping your wings for this, just use your magic and instead of pushing, pull down. Got it?"

"Not really!" Dash sounded a little confused. Rainbow wasn't worried. She'd understand once they got going.

"GO!" Rainbow yelled, and flipped them upside-down, so that they were both facing the ground. They began to plummet, the wind streaking past their faces as they fell. But Rainbow didn't want to just fall. She wanted to fly. She felt deep inside her, where her pegasus magic swelled like a raging stormcloud. She carefully pulled it forward, and focused it in her hooves. Reaching further, she felt down to all the air concentrated beneath her, and pulled.

As Rainbow pulled, she felt the hands clasped around her hooves begin to tingle, as if suffused with magic of their own. Now she's getting it. she thought. Rainbow and Dash rocketed down, and as they pulled in tandem, a faint whistling noise began to pierce the air. The air in front of their clasped hooves and hand began to condense, beginning to form into a cone shape as the whistling noise increased. Rainbow gritted her teeth, and pulled more with her pegasus magic. Water streamed out of her eyes and down the sides of her face as she accelerated, and the wind pulled at her face until it felt raw. Still she pushed on, feeling and much as hearing the noise of air streaming past her.

The cone of condensed air in front of her bent, streaming out along her and Dash as their speed increased even more. Colors began to appear at the cone of air, feeding off of her pegasus magic and leaving a trail of multicolored light behind her. She gritted her teeth, and with one final push, broke through the barrier of air and sound.

A muted boom blew out from behind her and her human companion, but they outflew it. A giant ring of color painted the sky behind them. A Sonic Rainboom. The ground raced up to meet them, but Rainbow pulled up, and skimmed along the treetops as a trail of brilliant color stretched out behind her. She stretched out her wings, and slowed down, steadily bleeding off speed. She glided down into the small opening before the Canterlot High portal, and set Dash down.

"Well? How was that?" she panted. But Dash appeared unable to answer, eyes glazed over as she looked up at the sky behind them.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh..." she trailed off.

"C'mon." Rainbow said. "Let's get you through that portal." And she did.

Author's Note

I'm sorry this chapter took so much longer than the other one! :fluttershysad:
There were finals, and school stuff, and studying, but it's finally over. It's summer for me now ( :yay: ), so these chapters should not suffer another break like this.

But here you go! About a thousand words longer than the Applejack chapter (I blame the Rainboom.) I hope you enjoyed it.

By the way, the majority of this chapter was written from pony Rainbow Dash's POV, so you'll see her calling "hair" a "mane", stuff like that. [joking voice]It's not a typo, it's me being a clever writer[/joking voice]

Next up, who knows? I was thinking Rarity, but if anyone has any preferences, I'm listening :raritywink:

Chapter 3: Rarity

Princess Twilight Sparkle trotted down the streets of Ponyville, making her way towards the Carousel Boutique where Rarity was busy working. Rarity had decided to return to her dressmaking shortly after Rainbow Dash entered the portal, claiming that she "recieved a flash of inspiration, and desperately needed to act on it, darling." But since Rainbow Dash had just returned from the pocket dimension, full of excitement and wild tales of Sonic Rainbooms, Twilight had volunteered to go and bring Rarity for her turn to go through the portal. Which led to the present, where Twilight stood before the door of Carousel Boutique. The ornate building stood out from the rest of Ponyville, its elegant trim and pale colors painting a strong contrast between itself and the more common earth pony-made houses in the area.

Twilight reached a hoof out, and loudly knocked on the door. "Rarity?" she called into the building. "Are you ready to go?" Hearing nothing, Twilight focused, magic pouring through her horn and enveloping the doorknob. Without warning, the door flew open, and Twilight jerked, reeling slightly at the feeling of her magic being yanked about like that. Rarity stood in the doorway, a look of utter horror on her face.

"Ready to go? Do you mean ready to go into another world and meet another Rarity? Heavens, darling, do I look ready?"

"Um, yes?" Twilight asked. Rarity didn't look like she wasn't ready. Her mane was in its usual style, and her coat seemed clean. But her response appeared to be the wrong one, as Rarity gasped in shock.

"Twilight! Do you honestly think I can meet an alternate version of myself without properly accessorizing?" Rarity seemed insulted at the notion.

"Neither Applejack or Rainbow Dash brought anything out of the ordinary, Rarity." Twilight reassured her. "I'm sure whatever you bring, you'll be perfectly fine." This seemed to calm Rarity down slightly.

"Hmm, I guess that you're right. I may have been stressing myself out slightly. I suppose that I mustn't keep the other me waiting for too long. She's probably already through the portal."

At about the same time, in another world, a very similar situation was occurring.

"Rarity!" Sunset Shimmer called, ringing the doorbell of the girl's house. "C'mon, Rainbow got back! We're ready for you to go through the portal!" She stood outside, waiting for a couple of moments, before grasping the handle. At that moment, the door flew open, and Sunset nearly tumbled into Rarity's house.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Sunset!" Rarity gasped, helping the girl back up. "I was just trying to figure out what to wear. I never thought that I'd meet a pony version of myself!"

"Yeah." Sunset forced a laugh. "It does sound pretty crazy, doesn't it?"

"Quite. So you said they're ready for me to go through the portal?"

"Yeah, that's why I came to get you."

"Oh, that's perfectly alright, Sunset. I was just making sure that I'm all ready. Do you think what I'm wearing is acceptable? It isn't anything special." Rarity asked. Sunset glanced at her clothes, a blue shirt with a purple skirt, as was her usual.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Rarity. It's just a friendly meeting of sorts. I wouldn't be surprised if you go through, and the other Rarity isn't even wearing clothes." Sunset smiled.

"What?!"

"Kidding. Maybe. Probably not."

Rarity stood before the mirror, staring into the strange window that it created. As per Twilight's suggestion, she had decided to forgo any sort of formal outfit or clothes of any sort. She shook her head, breaking her gaze from the portal, and turned to look at Twilight. The alicorn looked happy, but a little concerned as well.

"Rarity?" she asked. "Are you ready?"

"I believe that I am." Rarity replied. "Let's see how this turns out, then." With that, she stepped forward, and lightly prodded at the mirror with a hoof. It rippled, acting strangely like water. She nodded, and delicately walked through the shimmering surface. Instantly, her vision was overtaken by a swirl of colors, and a strong whoosh filled her ears, making them twitch. Strangely, it felt as though she was bending, stretching, and contorting in impossible ways, her body bending along with the impossible rainbow that danced before her eyes.

But as quickly as it had come, it was over, and Rarity found herself standing on soft grass. Despite the fact that it had seemed almost evening when she had left Ponyville, the position of the sun here indicated that it was no more than early afternoon. Rarity ignored that for the moment, and gazed around, taking in the sights of a new world. It was familiar, almost disappointingly so. The trees surrounding her could be from almost any forest in Equestria except for the Everfree, and the larger tree situated in the middle of the clearing ahead of her looked exactly like the Ponyville library had.

Seeing as how the library was the biggest landmark in sight, she decided to trot towards it. As she walked, she continued to look about, noticing two small apple trees planted next to each other at the edge of the clearing. I wonder what that's all about, she thought. Maybe Applejack brought them? It does seem like something that she would do. Shaking her head, Rarity continued walking toward the tree, her hooves barely making an imprint on the soft grass beneath her.

Rarity stepped out of the portal, stumbling slightly. She was still dizzy from the experience of going through, something which she was not at all prepared for. She concentrated, waited for the dizzy feelings to go away, and regained her composure. However, that composure was quickly tested when a strangely light feeling came over her, making her ears twitch. Her... pony... ears. Well, this is certainly unexpected. she thought. Running a hand down her back, she could tell that her hair had extended into its longer magical form. I didn't except this to happen, but I guess I cannot complain. These pony ears are rather nice, after all.

Once she was sure that she was as prepared as she could be, she began to walk through the forest. Sunset had explained to her that there was a large tree in the center of the area that had been transformed into a sort of meeting room, so she decided to try and find her way there.

She identified the large tree rather easily, after all, it was the only tree in the clearing that she assumed was the center of this place. What did Sunset call it? A world? Pocket dimension? I guess 'place' works as good as any. she mused as she strolled across the grass.

Eventually, she reached the edge of the tree. However, she didn't see a way in. She began to circle the tree, looking for some sort of opening bigger than the windows that were placed slightly above her reach. As she was walking, she heard a noise that sounded like door opening, and then closing a second later. A few seconds after that, she came upon a vaguely arch-shaped opening in the tree, which she assumed was the door which she had heard.

Now she knew that someone else was there with her, and she assumed that it could only be the pony Rarity. She slowed down, carefully walking toward the door. An unpleasant feeling grew in the pit of her stomach, nervous feelings floating around her insides like butterflies. She stopped just before the door, and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Don't panic, Rarity! she tried to mentally psych herself up. You're going to step through that door and... Meet another version of yourself... Okay, maybe a little bit of panicking is acceptable. She took another deep breath, and slowly breathed out, trying to push the tension from her mind. Before she could stop herself, she reached up and knocked on the door.

"Hello, is anyone there?" she called. While it was apparently herself in there, it was always polite to knock and ask before barging in on someone. The doorknob began to glow with a light blue aura, suprising Rarity. Is that... magic? she wondered, as the door slid open.

"Yes, hello! Do come in." A voice called out from the inside of the tree, sounding like it was at least half a room away from the door. I suppose it must be magic, then. Rarity mused as she walked inside. Sunset never really explained how that worked in Equestria. Rarity pulled the door closed behind her, and looked around.

The inside of the tree was surprisingly cosy. Due to the green leaves on the tree, she'd almost expected the inside to be full of moss and plants. But instead of all sorts of plant life, the room was filled with an assortment of chairs and couches, arranged in a circle. Some of the chairs seemed sized differently than the others, perhaps to accommodate ponies as well as people. The floor and walls were nice and smooth, especially for being carved out of a living tree. Lighting was provided by small windows and a few lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

The biggest surprise, however, was the white pony sitting in a chair across the room. Her hair, or mane, was purple, and styled almost like Rarity's own hair. Her coat was the same color as Rarity's skin, and when she turned to look at the newcomer, Rarity saw the same eyes she saw whenever she looked in a mirror. Two things were especially surprising to Rarity. One, the pony had a slender horn coming out of her forehead, and two, she wasn't wearing any clothes.

"Hello! You must be me, Rarity." the unicorn spoke, her voice eerily similar to Rarity's.

"Yes, I- I suppose so. It's, well, nice to meet you." Rarity replied, still shocked. Is it normal for ponies to not wear clothes? That must by why Sunset said this Rarity might not even be wearing clothes. She did seem rather amused when she said it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." the unicorn smiled at Rarity, then froze slightly. "Darling, are you alright? You seemed... stunned."

"Oh, I'm perfectly alright." Rarity reassured herself and her self. "Just a bit of culture shock, I suppose."

"Really? What was it about?"

"Well- how should I say this. Hmm. I assume that in Equestria, clothes aren't something that is worn all the time?" Rarity was trying to be as delicate as possible with the subject, she just hoped that she was doing it well enough.

"I suppose not, though in cities like Manehattan and Canterlot, ponies do tend to be clothed more often then not. Why? Is it not the same in human culture?"

"Not at all, really. In fact, not wearing clothes is something of a taboo, and is even considered a crime in most places."

"A crime? That seems rather extreme. I can understand the taboo, but making something like that a crime is a little hard for me to understand."

"Yes, well, I never thought to find out the origins of it. So clothes for ponies are more of a way to enhance your looks than anything else?"

"That's it exactly. Most ponies use clothes only for special occasions, or simply to look nice."

"Hmm. That's a very interesting notion. Anyways, since you are me, I'm curious as to what you do in Equestria?"

"Why, thank you for asking! I work as a fashion designer mostly in Ponyville, though I also have opened branches of my boutique in Canterlot and just recently Manehattan."

Rarity's mouth would have dropped open if was ladylike to do so. "You run three boutiques? How old are you?"

"You know never to ask a lady that." Rarity grinned slyly at her human counterpart. "Let's just say that I've had enough time since I graduated school to set up my business."

"Graduated school? That's odd, the girls and I are still in high school in the human world."

"That is certainly very strange. Perhaps the portal affects age somehow? Or maybe the two worlds do not mirror each other in that respect?"

"That could be it." The human Rarity pursed her lips as she thought. "I really can't say, though I suppose I will have to ask Sunset about it."

"And I will have to ask Twilight." A look of excitement so strong it seemed almost predatory grew on pony Rarity's face. "So, do you work with clothes as well in the human world?"

"Well, yes, but only when I have the time. School and homework get in the way sometimes, however."

"That's too bad. But I bet you've had some interesting ideas with your world's fashion." Rarity suddenly got what her counterpart was implying.

"Would you like to share ideas, darling?" she asked, a twin look of excitement spreading across her own face.

"Like to share ideas? Would I ever..."

Author's Note

Woohoo! Chapter 3! :raritywink:

Also, woohoo! Cover art! Since my artistic talent is comparable to a chimpanzee holding a paintbrush backwards, it's just a screenshot that I lazily took from the Friendship Games bloopers, but I think it works.

About the chapter itself: This is probably the last time that I'm going to touch on the age difference, at least until Celestia. The clothes thing is probably not going to be addressed again.

Well, next up is the one and only Pinkie Pie! :pinkiegasp: :pinkiehappy: Until next time!

Chapter 4: Pinkie Pie

Twilight Sparkle watched from a chair in her library as Rarity gracefully stepped out of the mirror onto the hard crystal floor of her castle.

"Well, Rarity? How was it?" the alicorn smiled at her friend.

"Oh, darling. It was wonderful." Rarity return the smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some wonderful new ideas that I simply must start working on at the boutique."

"Oh, that sounds exciting- wait a minute, Rarity. You didn't take ideas from the human world, did you?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight! Now whatever could give you such a silly idea as that?" Rarity winked, slightly weakening her denial.

"Rarity..." Twilight sighed. "I guess I can't do anything about it now. I assume the other Rarity has several new ideas as well?"

"Well, it would be rude of me to only take ideas without giving her a little bit of help as well, wouldn't it?"

Twilight sighed again, heavier this time. "It seems that it can't be helped now."

"Oh, by the way Twilight, I was curious. Whose turn is it next for the portal?" Rarity asked with polite curiousity. Twilight told her.

The instant she heard who it was, Rarity's blood ran cold. Her face, already covered by white fur, became somehow paler. Her mouth hung open in abject shock and fear. Barely above a whisper, she spoke.

"No... It can't be..." Twilight only nodded in confirmation.

"I'm afraid it is."

"Pinkie Pie..." Rarity breathed, the words hanging ominously in the air for a moment.

This time, it was Twilight who broke the silence. "Celestia help us all."

Meanwhile, Pinkamena Diane Pie herself was happily bouncing her way through Ponyville, calling out cheerfully to anypony- or donkey, zebra, or dragon that she saw. She passed Lyra and Bonbon sitting on a bench "Hi Lyra! Hey Sweetie Dro- um, Bonbon!" The cream-colored earth pony gave her an 'I'm watching you' gesture. She bounced her way past the quill and sofa salespony "Heya!" and Cranky Doodle Donkey. "Cranky! Hi! It's me, Pinkie!" She passed Twilight, who was waving at her and calling her name, "Hi Twilight!" and continued bouncing down the street.

Wait a minute! she thought. Was Twilight calling my name in a 'hi' way, or was she calling my name in a 'Pinkie I need to tell you this fantastic cupcake recipe that I found in some book' way? Pinkie stopped herself mid-bounce and fell to the ground, landing in a sitting position. She put a hoof to her chin in deep thought. Hmm... Twilight was waving at me, kinda like she wanted me to listen to her, and she called my name multiple times. Actually, she's still calling my name. Sorry, thoughts! I gotta go!

With a bounce and a noise like a box of springs being sprung, Pinkie jumped into the air, landing in front of Twilight.

"Hiya, Twilight! I heard you calling my name like you wanted to tell me some sort of super-awesome cupcake recipe so I stopped and then jumped and now I'm talking to you!" With each word, Pinkie leaned closer and closer to Twilight, until her forehead was pressed right against the alicorn's, their eyes practically touching.

"Oh, um, hi Pinkie." Twilight took a step back, then shook her and took a deep breath. Pinkie knew she was getting into 'super-serious princessy announcement/lecture mode', and sat down. "Rarity has left the inter-dimensional portal, so it's vacant again. Sunset Shimmer and I decided that you and your other-dimensional counterpart would be next to inside it."

Pinkie's eyes crossed and un-crossed as she processed the Twilight-speak. Then, a huge grin lit up her face. "So you're saying that I can go meet the other me, who's like me but this thingy called a 'human' and she and I can throw a giant, massive, multi-world party!? YAY!" She grabbed Twilight in a close hug, and then jumped around the corner of a building. "I gotta go Twilight see you later bye!

"Pinkie!" Twilight called after the fleeing party pony. "That's not the way to my castle!" She gave a heavy sigh. "She'll probably still beat me to it, though. Just Pinkie being Pinkie..."

At about the same time, in a dimension not that far away, Sunset Shimmer groaned under her breath. She stood in the middle of Sugarcube Corner, the third place she had gone when she went looking for Pinkie Pie.

First, she'd tried the girl's house, but Pinkie's sister Maud had told Sunset that she was going to grab something that she'd forgotten at school. So Sunset went to Canterlot High, only to find the doors locked and all the lights off. So Sunset had decided to go to one of Pinkie's favorite places in the world- Sugarcube Corner. But the bright, colorful store had no sign of the pink-haired girl who worked there.

Maybe she's still at school. The building looked like it was locked up, but I wouldn't put it past Pinkie Pie to manage to get inside somehow. She's gotten into stranger places before. Might as well check, I guess. Her mind made up, Sunset turned around to walk out the door.

A half-second later, her palm hit her face with a loud smack.

"Ouchie, Sunset! That looked like it hurt!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Why'd you do that?" The very girl that Sunset had spent over a half-hour looking for was standing right behind her, looking concerned but somehow managing to look as energetic as always while doing so.

"Pinkie?" Sunset asked.

"Yeeeeaaaah?" Pinkie drew out the word, smiling widely.

"How long have you been standing behind me?"

"Oh, about since you got to CHS." Pinkie beamed innocently. Sunset sighed. Just Pinkie being Pinkie.

"So, Pinkie, I wanted to tell you-" She was cut off before she could finish.

"Rarity's back from visiting the pony Rarity in that place that's not our world but not the pony world, so now you want me to go in to that world and meet the pony Pinkie?" Pinkie gave her another completely innocent smile. Sunset almost could have sworn she saw a halo appear above Pinkie's head.

"Wha- uh- yeah." Sunset finished lamely. "Yeah, that's what I wanted to say." Just Pinkie being Pinkie, Sunset. Don't freak.

"Well then what are we waiting for, silly? Let's go to the portal!" Pinkie leaped into the air and took off out the door of Sugarcube Corner.

"Pinkie, wait!" Sunset yelled. "You're going the wrong w-" she shook her head. "Forgot who I'm talking to."

In Equestria, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie stood together in front of the mirror portal. "Okay Pinkie." Twilight spoke slowly. "Are you ready to do this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be! See ya, Twilight!" With that, Pinkie jumped into the portal. Twilight looked for a minute at the still-rippling surface, and then shook her head and turned back towards the library proper.

In an instant, Pinkie's vision was full of colors. A full spectrum filled the air, like a thousand Sonic Rainbooms going off right in her face. "Wheeeee!" she yelled, and felt her body doing loop-de-loops and flips and all sorts of crazy twists and turns.

A second later, it was over. Pinkie popped out of the portal and bounced onto the ground, landing on her back with a sound that could only be described as a squeak. She hopped back onto her hooves and glanced around. She saw nothing but quiet trees, with a big treehouse in the middle.

In this moment, one thing was abundantly clear to Pinkie Pie; this place was undeniably fantastic. But for all its fantasticalness, it was missing just a little something more... exciting. It needed a party. Badly. And it looked like it would be up to Pinkie Pie to give it a party. Or would it be up to Pinkie Pies? She had to see if she was here yet. The thought made her giggle. Of course I'm here, but I need to see if I'm here. It made perfect sense to her.

"Pinkie? Pinkie Pie? Hello?" she called into the silent space. It felt silly to be calling her own name, but here she was, doing just that Hmm... Where could she be?

She looked up in the treehouse- "Pinkie?" the portal to Canterlot High- "Pinkie Pie?" the portal to Equestria- "Other me? Hello?" and a random space in the woods surrounding the treehouse- "Human Pinkie? Are you here?"

Pinkie Pie scrunched up her nose, looking around. "Huh. I guess she isn't here yet. Well..." Her voice took on a sing-songy tone "I guess this gives me time to pre-pare!"

Back in the human world, Pinkie Pie walked up to the portal set in the base of the Canterlot High statue. Sunset wasn't there, so Pinkie stuck her pinkie finger (or was it her Pinkie pinkie finger?) into the statue's base. It sunk right in, and Pinkie felt a weird and chilly feeling, like the feeling she got on her tongue when she drank something fizzy, but this time the feeling was on her finger.

"Hey, that tickles!" She laughed, waving her finger around like she was drawing pictures in the stone.

"Pinkie!" Sunset Shimmer ran up to her and slumped down next to the statue, gasping for breath. "How... did... you... get... here... so... fast?" She panted, taking a breath in between each word.

"I walked, silly Sunset!" Pinkie smiled cheerily. "What do you think I did?" Sunset stared at her, then shook her head.

"Whatever. Look, are you ready to go into the portal?" Sunset asked.

"Yepperooni!"

"Alright. Princess Twilight said that the pony Pinkie Pie is through already, so you're good to go."

"Great!" Pinkie jumped up and gave Sunset a tight hug, then skipped back in front of the portal. "See ya later, Sunny! I have to go meet- me!" And with a hop, a skip, and a jump, she was through the portal

Pinkie's sight was filled with colors, like a giant rainbow had smashed into her face. She wondered if this was what it had looked like when they'd hit Sunset with the rainbow laser back when she turned into a fiery demon and tried to take over the school. She'd have to ask her sometime. Probably with a 'no offense' thrown in there too.

A second later, Pinkie popped out of the portal, landing on one foot. She flailed her arms comically for a second, but overbalanced and fell flat on her face.

"Ugh," she moaned into the ground. "tastes like dirt and cupcakes." She laid there for a minute. Wait, cupcakes? She shot to her feet and opened her eyes to an amazing scene.

All around her spread the makings of a fantastic party. There were streamers and balloons and the cupcakes she'd tasted and a big banner saying 'WELCOME HUMAN PINKIE'.

"Ooh, is this for me?" Pinkie asked the seemingly empty area.

"You bet!" A voice that sounded almost exactly like her own rang out from somewhere in front of her.

"Well, that's a funny echo." Pinkie said, then raised her voice. "Echo!"

"Echo! Why're we doing this?" The voice came again.

"Echo! I don't know!" Pinkie yelled back. "Are you me?"

"I think so!" The voice popped out from behind a bush, and with the voice came the most adorable creature Pinkie had ever seen. The pony was smaller than any horse Pinkie had seen, and she was the pinkest pink Pinkie had ever seen. More importantly, aside from the whole 'pony' thing, she looked just like Pinkie!

"Hiya me! I'm Pinkie! And you're Pinkie! This is the most amazing thing ever!" The pony her even sounded like her! Pinkie decided to think of her has 'Pinkie Pony' in her head. "So, Pinkie. Did you see who set up this awesome party?" She gave Pinkie Pony a sly grin.

"Who- I set up this party!" Pinkie Pony said.

"I know, silly, I'm just joking! Now, while this is a great party and all, I think it's missing a little something." Pinkie mused.

"What do you mean? I have streamers, and balloons, and cake, and cupcakes, and banners, and everything!"

"Yes, but I'd say that it's missing someone to eat those cakes, and cupcakes, and enjoy all the decorations! So why don't we check it out?" Pinkie beamed.

"I'd love to!"

Twilight looked up from her copy of Astoundingly Abstract Augury as she heard the portal began to buzz. But instead of a pink pony flying out, she saw a few pieces of confetti float out of the surface and drift to the crystal floor.

"What in Equestria?" she wondered aloud. The portal hummed again, this time releasing a balloon, some streamers, and Gummy. Twilight rolled her eyes, slightly smiling, as she carefully levitated the alligator into the air and carried him back through the portal. She hardly noticed the swirl of rainbow colors, being used to it by now, and stepped easily onto the forest floor. Surely finding the Pinkies would be easy, all she had to do was find wherever the streamers and confetti were coming from.

But as Twilight wandered through the small forest, she saw no signs of any sort of party. It wasn't until she came closer to the clearing at the center that she saw a bit of pink through the trees. Confident that she'd found the party that was guaranteed to be happening, she walked towards the bright color... only to find pony and human Pinkie sitting at a table at the center of the clearing, playing chess.

"Excuse me, Pinkie? Or Pinkies?" Twilight said. "I think you may have lost Gummy?" She held up the alligator in question.

"Oh hi Twilight! So that's where Gummy wandered off to. Thanks for bringing him back!" Pinkie (the pony one, that is) said as she reclaimed her pet, loving placing him back in her mane.

"You're welcome, I guess." Twilight said, unsure what exactly to say, considering the situation. "I suppose I'll leave you two to your game, then?"

"Okay! We're almost done, anyways. Bye, Twi!" Pinkie waved as the alicorn slowly walked back into the forest, glancing occasionally over her shoulder as if she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Pinkie turned back to her game, and moved her queen forward three spaces.

"Uno."

Author's Note

So, yes, I finally finished this chapter. Only took me, what, a day less than ten months? :derpyderp2: But who's counting, really. :twilightsheepish:

A couple of thoughts about the chapter: I think the Twilight and Rarity bit feels a bit drawn out, but i kinda like the overly dramatic sense it gives that bit. The part about Pinkie and Pinkie playing chess, I don't know where that came from but it probably had something to do with that story about Pinkie playing chess in the feature box a few day ago? (I hadn't read the fic when I wrote that bit, but I guess the concept made its way into my subconscious. I always did have Pinkie doing something serious planned for this chapter.) About the last sentence or so: no idea where that came from either. And before this Author's Note gets too long, I also feel that this chapter felt a bit too random, but eh. Over-the-top was what I was going for.

Up next, and most likely last, is the final member of the Hu/Mane Six, Fluttershy! :yay:
Hopefully, this one won't take almost a year.