A World Worth Dying For

Chapters

Part 2: The Divide
Part 3: Steadfast
Part 4: Epilogue
Part 1: The Worst World Yet

Part 2: The Divide

Twilight had expected the security around Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns to be a lot better. The front door had nothing more than a simple alarm spell which was easy to subvert, and the lock itself was more for show than practicality. Nopony was around at this hour, almost making the black clothing and soft hoof pads she wore unnecessary.

The small unicorn knew exactly where she needed to go and the map of the school was fresh in her mind as she navigated the simple layout to the dean's office. That door wasn't even locked.

There, on the desk of the headmistress, was the egg, resting in a small box of hay like some sort of trophy. Determined, Twilight levitated the entire box down, glaring at the puzzle that had managed to beat her. The small filly may have hated tests, but she hated failing tests even more, and from the beginning it had felt like this one had been stacked against her.

She may have failed her entrance exam, she might never get another chance to attend this school, and she knew that she was breaking all kinds of rules by being in the school at this hour, but right here and now, this was for her. This was something she needed to do, if only to prove to herself that she could, and that all the time she'd spent studying magic hadn't been wasted.

Pulling the blinds and shutting the door, Twilight got to work. Diagnostic spells, probing spells, environment spells to simulate the ideal conditions for the egg to hatch, and patience. The shell was heavily magic resistant, making it difficult to determine the condition of the baby dragon inside, but without the constant pressure of her observers and the time limit, she could get around that.

There was something in there. Something warm, alive, and eager to get out. The room glowed as the filly began her work.

Minutes passed, then hours, and still Twilight worked, taking only short breaks to catch her breath and recover her magic. It hadn't taken long for her to find the shield that had been subtly crafted around the egg, no doubt put in place by one of the professors who had given the test. More spells were layered beneath it, each one seeking to dampen outside magical influences and redirect them. By the time Twilight got to the fourth layer, she was panting and sweating, her mind racing as she struggled to remember her counterspells correctly. She was convinced by this point that whoever designed the test was a sadist who simply wished to see everypony fail.

The moon was just starting to vanish below the skyline when Twilight collapsed. Her legs were shaking and her vision was hazy, and even though all the protections around the egg had been stripped away, the egg itself remained whole.

“Stupid...test. Stupid...egg. Stupid...magic resistance...” panted the young unicorn, fighting to stay awake. “Not...gonna...fail!”

The entire office lit up in a burst of violet light as Twilight reached deep within her reserves and pulled out all the magic she had left, practically throwing it at the egg. It wiggled. She reached out to the tiny life inside of it, still sleeping in what could only be some magically induced coma.

Gritting her teeth, Twilight closed her eyes, barely noticing as her legs left the ground. Magic built in her throat until she couldn't keep it inside anymore. Taking in a breath, the unicorn shouted.

“WAKE UP!”

The windows in the office shattered. Every alarm in the school was triggered at once, and moments later when Celestia teleported in, she was treated to the sight of a purple unicorn filly curled up with a newly hatched baby dragon passed out on the floor of the office.

Spike let out a laugh as the much older Twilight finished the journal entry. “I dunno, Twilight, that doesn't sound too far off from something you'd do.”

“That was one time, Spike,” grumbled Twilight as she flipped a few pages ahead and skimmed the entry afterwards.

“Was my egg really that hard to hatch?” he asked curiously.

“It was supposed to be impossible,” said Twilight, clearly annoyed with the very concept that a test could be impossible to pass. “I didn't learn about it until after I did it, though. Apparently I'd passed every other test up to that point with flying colors, and even if I hadn't hatched your egg, I would have been accepted into the school.”

“Huh...well, I'm glad you passed it,” said Spike. “It was cramped in there.”

“I'm glad I hatched it, too,” said Twilight warmly before turning her attention back to the book. “But I think I'm starting to see where things changed.”

“How so? You still hatched the egg and became Celestia's student, didn't you?”

“Yes, but in our world, I did it completely by accident,” corrected the alicorn. “And that's just it. When Celestia accepted me as her student, I was humbled. For the first year it felt like I'd just...lucked into it. That I was at the right place at the right time and...well, it was hard not feeling like a fraud.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Twilight, you've always been good at magic!” protested Spike. “You said yourself they would have accepted you anyways!”

“Well...maybe, but it always felt like I had to live up to their expectations,” confessed the alicorn. “This Twilight on the other hand...well, give this entry a look.”

Levitating the book over to the dragon, Spike's eyes widened in recognition. “Oh hey, I remember that! The whole Ursa Minor thing!”

“Keep reading,” urged Twilight.

Spike let his eyes roam over the page for a bit before his mouth fell open. “Wow...just...ran her out of town? I mean, it sounds like she was asking for it, calling her out specifically but...wow.”

Twilight nodded, somewhat glum. “This Twilight was confident in her position, and every time somepony challenged it, she reacted...well, like Rainbow Dash does when someone challenges her flying. And when she got her wings...”

“She was ready to take on the role,” finished Spike. “But that doesn't mean she's better or worse than you, does it?”

“Even I'm not so sure of that anymore,” said Twilight with a shake of her head. “Logically speaking, I should have never given my magic to Tirek. It was blind luck that we managed to solve the riddle of the crystal box in time and that it happened to contain something that helped us defeat Tirek.”

Spike glared at her. “Don't even joke about that, Twilight. You saw what happened here. You made the right call. You believed in the Magic of Friendship and it came through for you because you put your friends first!”

Twilight wished she could believe that, but even with the evidence staring her in the face, it was hard to argue with the Princess of Pragmatism's reasoning for doing what she did. She hadn't entertained Trixie’s grandstanding and had avoided damage to the town from the Ursa Minor. She'd neutralized Chrysalis as a threat and turned her into an ally rather than wait for her to show herself again. She'd done extensive research into Sombra to make sure he wouldn't be a threat anymore either. Saving him had just been a bonus.

And it was doubtful she would have ever let Starlight Glimmer escape.

Fortunately, it seemed like this Twilight had been a good friend all the same, but there were many subtle differences that fed her growing discomfort.

This universe's Twilight had taken to being a princess the same way she'd taken to being Celestia's student; with a sense of accomplishment and achievement rather than humility, and it hadn't taken her long to start exercising that power.

Most of it had been subtle. Simple things like getting Rarity her big shop in Canterlot and making certain Rainbow got her shot with the Wonderbolts. Other things had not been so subtle. Flim and Flam, Wind Rider, Suri Polomare, and Trixie hadn't gotten off nearly as lightly as they had in her world, with punishments ranging from excessive fines and community service, to actual jail time in Trixie and Wind Rider's case.

On the surface it seemed a bit harsh, but the Alicorn Amulet incident had been a huge hassle to clean up, and it was hard not to think that Wind Rider deserved his disgrace for trying to sabotage Rainbow's career due to ego.

And ultimately, she'd shown she was willing to give her life for Equestria.

Letting out a sigh, Twilight set the book aside and flopped backwards onto her bed. It felt just as comfortable as she remembered it. Beside her, Spike was dragging out his old basket from beneath.

“She's not me, Spike,” said Twilight finally. “I didn't do the things she did, and trying to take her place would be an insult to her memory. Tomorrow I'm finishing the spell, and we're leaving.”

Spike sighed and flopped down into his basket. “If you're sure.”

“But are you sure they'll let you go?”

The sudden voice was a surprise, but not an unfamiliar one. Fighting back her reflexive panic, the alicorn extended her magical senses and looked up at the ceiling. “Did you need something, Discord? I was kind of about to sleep.”

“Why yes, in fact I do.” That got Twilight's attention. Sitting up, she watched as the draconequus slid down from the ceiling and landed gracefully at the foot of her bed. Twilight's eyes narrowed. Something seemed off about him, more so than usual. His entrance had been...subdued. No flashy effects, no clothing gags, and not even a chuckle at his own jokes. “I want you to leave. Immediately.”

Biting back her instinctive reply, Twilight mulled the statement over. “Not that I was planning on staying, but why the urgency?”

“Because otherwise they're not going to let you leave.”

“You seem pretty sure of that,” retorted Twilight, annoyed now.

The draconequus sighed and lounged back, an offensively brightly colored lawn chair appearing for him to sit in along with a glass of some red liquid with an umbrella in it. As he drew the drink to his mouth, Twilight noticed something off about his features. Along the right side of his face, an angry red scar stretched from his ear, past his muzzle, and quite a ways down his neck.

“As sure as anypony who wouldn't want to risk their universe being erased once they leave,” he replied casually.

“They wouldn't be able to stop me,” said Twilight firmly. “Not that I believe they'll even try. My friends are better than that.”

“Your friends, perhaps, but as you've clearly just read, these aren't your friends, are they?”

Twilight found she had no good answer to that. Sure, they all seemed just like her friends back home, but the journal she'd found showed just how different her other self had turned out.

“And really, they don't need to stop you, or are you forgetting the other component of Starswirl's spell?”

Twilight's breath caught in her throat. “The Crystal Map...”

“A stunning piece of magic, not of this world. Quite complex and completely alien. Could you recreate that if it were...broken?”

Twilight hesitated, but then frowned, her eyes coming to meet Discord's own with a piercing glare. “I refuse to believe my friends would ever do something like that. Why do you even care whether I stay or leave?”

Discord sighed. Setting his glass aside, the draconequus traced one of his claws along the deep scar that ran along his side. “I don't particularly like this world.”

Twilight took a closer look. That scar didn't look like it was applied voluntarily, and Discord was vain enough that Twilight couldn't see him keeping it around if he actually wanted it. That meant something, or someone, had given it to him. Only one pony came to mind.

“What did you do to anger Celestia?”

“I got her favorite pupil and fellow princess killed. She would have killed me, too, if you hadn't bothered saving my life.”

Twilight swallowed, unnerved by the frank and flat tone Discord was using. It was unsettling hearing him be so straightforward and direct. “I'm guessing you're not terribly popular around Ponyville, either.”

“The Element of Kindness won't even give me the time of day. What do you think?”

Twilight could only nod. Bitterness and regret were two things she never thought she'd associate with Discord, not long term anyways. But it was clear that the sunscar he had along his face and neck wasn't the deepest.

“I can't leave tonight,” said Twilight finally. “Even if I wanted to, I need to repair the scroll, and I need to rest. I can't beat Starlight Glimmer half-exhausted like this.”

“Can't, or won't?” said Discord, suddenly snaking off of his chair, the ensemble vanishing behind him as he stopped an inch away from Twilight's face. “Do you really expect me to believe that any unicorn could stand against an alicorn if they were truly serious? Perhaps you should take a lesson from your other self if you wish to stop suffering through these timelines.”

Before the alicorn could respond, Discord vanished, not even bothering to snap his fingers, leaving a slight tinge of sulfur in the air. For her part, Twilight groaned and fell back onto her bed. Beside her, Spike peeked his head up from his basket. “You know...he might have a point. He would know the ponies of this universe better than you, wouldn't he?”

“Celestia said she would back whatever decision I made. He's worrying for nothing,” said the alicorn with an assurance she wasn't quite feeling.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Twilight groaned and rolled over, her eyes slowly opening at the sound of a hoof on glass. Yawning and stretching her legs, Twilight turned her head towards the window, blinking sleep from her eyes and adjusting to the sunlight. Outside, Rainbow Dash was hovering in the air, gently flapping her wings.

“Huh. She stopped breaking the windows. Wonder how other Twilight managed that?” murmured Twilight before teleporting outside, appearing next to the pegasus and letting her wings catch her in mid-air. “Morning, Rainbow, did you need something?”

Rainbow hesitated, looking slightly off to the side of Twilight's face as she spoke. “Hey, um...I realize that you're different from our Twilight, and that you might not share the same interests as her, but...would you like to go on a morning flight?”

Twilight thought for a moment, briefly turning back to the window to see Spike still asleep in his basket. A chance to stretch her wings did sound good, and it would let her subtly check on the crystal table. “That sounds great, actually. Go easy on me, though, I'm pretty sure you're faster than me in every universe.”

Rainbow grinned and flew in a short loop, taking a position on Twilight's left as the two of them took off. “Hey, no pressure, princess, I'm pretty good at reining in my awesomeness.”

Twilight giggled, taking the lead as she set a course around Ponyville. “I'll believe that when I see it.” To her surprise though, Rainbow seemed to be staying true to her word, letting her take the lead and break the wind ahead of them, their path curving along the outskirts of town and over the Everfree forest.

“You're listing, Twi, watch the left side,” said Rainbow a few minutes into the flight, speeding up to fly alongside her. “Heh. You even have some of the same flying quirks your other self has.”

“You spotted them just as easily in my world,” replied Twilight, making the small correction and putting on a little more speed. Below, she could see the crystal table in the midst of the trees. Nopony seemed to be around it, so she allowed herself to relax a little bit.

Rainbow easily caught up, twisting in midair and flying backwards so she could face her. “Hey...I'm sorry for trying to compare you to your other self last night. It's just...you're so similar, and I was really happy seeing you again.”

“It's okay, Rainbow. After all the traveling I've done lately, I was doing the same thing with you girls,” confessed the alicorn, playfully putting on a bit more speed to challenge Rainbow's trick flying, but Dash didn't even seemed phased..

“Hey, I'm awesome in every universe, so you can be forgiven for that,” teased Rainbow, twisting in the air and flying a loop around the princess before flying more normally on her right side. “Seriously, though, I can tell you're different from her.”

“How so?” asked Twilight curiously.

“Well...I dunno, it's hard to explain. You just feel more...approachable. I mean, other Twilight was one of my best friends, but...it's like trying to talk to Rarity while she's with a bunch of nobleponies, you get what I'm saying?”

“Yeah, I think I do,” said Twilight with a sigh. “It seems like she was a much better princess than me.”

“Hey, it's not a competition!”

Twilight giggled. “Oh, really?”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow adjusted her flight path and gently nudged the princess off course. “Not that kind of competition, egghead.”

Twilight chuckled. “Apparently even my other self couldn't escape that nickname.”

Rainbow hesitated, allowing Twilight to pull ahead for a brief moment. “You, uh...don't hate it, do you?”

“I always thought it was endearing,” assured the princess, putting on another burst of speed as she reached Cranky's cabin at the edge of town and began the trip back. She was doing the flying equivalent of 'galloping' now, taking the last leg of the journey as fast as she could.

Rainbow quickly caught up, flashing her a grin as she passed. Twilight gave it her best effort, pushing her wings as fast as they would carry her, but Rainbow always stayed a hoof's length ahead, moving just fast enough to keep out of reach despite giving her a wind tunnel to use. When the two landed at the entrance to her library, Twilight was somewhat breathless. Rainbow barely looked winded.

“Not bad, Princess Egghead,” teased Rainbow, giving her a light hoof-bump on the shoulder. “Look, I dunno how different or similar you are to your other self, but I think we could be friends either way...if you're staying, that is. I mean, no pressure or anything.”

“Wait, Rainbow, I-”

Before Twilight could get in another word though, Rainbow took off, blowing back Twilight's mane and tail with the wind pressure of her takeoff. Letting out a sigh, Twilight yawned and opened her door, wondering if there was any quick and convenient way to get breakfast.

As she walked into the library, though, the unmistakable scent of pancakes came through. Apparently Spike had awoken during her morning flight, and he'd been busy. The real surprise came in the form of his company, sitting at her table and talking amicably with the young dragon.

“You know, I don't think you two appreciate just how bizarre it feels having the ex-King of the Crystal Empire and the ex-Queen of the Changelings sitting in my library like this,” said Twilight by way of greeting.

Sombra let out a deep chuckle. “Perhaps not, but is it any more odd than seeing one of your old friends and acquaintances jump into your world from another dimension?”

“Point taken,” said Twilight, raising a hoof before anyone else could talk. “Food first. I haven't had pancakes in ages. Even alicorns need to eat now and then.”

“How many worlds have you been to now?” asked Sombra.

The question came a bit after Twilight had finished off her first plate and had gone back for seconds. Thankfully, Spike had been prepared.

The alicorn took her time with the bite in her mouth, mentally counting the number of times she'd jumped. Swallowing, she finally gave her answer. “This would be...timeline thirty-three.”

Sombra nodded thoughtfully. “I see. And judging from your surprise and paranoia, I would hazard a guess that not many of those worlds were peaceful.”

“You could say that,” said Twilight with a slight grumble, raising a hoof and pointing towards Chrysalis. “Four timelines were taken over by changelings with the last survivors having escaped to holdouts in the Everfree Forest.” Her hoof turned towards Sombra. “And there were at least five worlds where you had turned Equestria into a war-torn state, forced to fight an increasingly desperate battle against mind-controlled ponies.”

“And the others?” asked Chrysalis.

“Tirek got the upper hoof in a few. Discord had at least one world under his control. Every time I came through the portal and saw it was night time, I automatically assumed Nightmare Moon had taken over, and some worlds were just...empty.” Twilight shivered slightly at the memory.

“I see. And if you do not mind my asking, why is this Starlight Glimmer proving to be such a challenge to you? If the blast you struck me with yesterday is any indication, you do not lack for power.”

“If it was a simple fight, maybe, but all Starlight has to do in order to send the timeline into freefall is interfere with Rainbow. Even if I try to fight her, the fight itself is distracting enough to the point where Rainbow will want to come watch.”

“Then why do you keep holding back?”

Chrysalis' question was followed by a very uncomfortable silence. “I'm sorry?” said Twilight finally.

“Yeah, what are you talking about?” asked Spike. “I've been there. Starlight is pretty tough.”

“I've no doubt this Starlight Glimmer is a powerful unicorn, especially since she can manipulate and modify Starswirl's spells. However, as a unicorn you could do the same, and now you have a pair of wings,” said Sombra, his voice still amiable and friendly despite the line of reasoning he was traveling down. “I realize you may not have trained in combat magics, but do you really expect me to believe this Starlight can hold a candle to your power?”

“Twilight?” asked Spike uncertainly, glancing between the former ruler of the Crystal Empire and the Princess of Friendship. Twilight simply looked down at the table.

Sombra waited, but when no answer was forthcoming, he sighed and nodded his head. “As I suspected, you are reluctant to take a course of action that might lead to her death.”

Twilight's head shot up and her eyes narrowed. “If you've come here to judge me and dictate how I treat my enemies, you may as well leave. I didn't kill my world's Tirek and I'm not going to kill Starlight, even if I have to go back a hundred times to talk her down. I just have to make her see reason.”

Sombra held up a placating hoof. “Peace, Twilight, I am certainly not one to pass judgment on your actions. I only ask you to look at the logic of the situation.”

Letting out a huff, Twilight sat back down and drained the glass of water she'd had in front of her, giving the former king a curt nod.

“Many of these other worlds you have been to have been unsafe. Some have been wastelands, others have had ruling tyrants who attacked you almost immediately upon your arrival. From my understanding, this is the only world you've had a moment of peace in, yes?”

Hesitantly, Twilight nodded.

“If you refuse to use your full power against Starlight, and you continue to be flung into these other timelines, how long do you think it will be before one of these other world's tyrants captures you? Captures the spell you carry with you? Or perhaps you end up in a world that has been completely destroyed, leaving nothing but a void? Are you willing to chance that with another thirty worlds? Another fifty? How many more do you think you must travel to before you can talk Starlight Glimmer down?”

Twilight hung her head. The odds weren't good. She'd clashed with much less friendly versions of Chrysalis and Sombra on multiple occasions now, and the brief fights she'd had with Nightmare Moon had been...unpleasant. “I have to try,” she said finally. “I'm sorry if that's not good enough for you, but I wouldn't be the princess I am if I didn't trust in the power that made me an alicorn in the first place.”

Sombra looked thoughtful. It was a little unnerving seeing the normally berserk and mindless pony acting so regal and composed. Just as he was about to speak again though, Chrysalis interrupted.

“Or you could just stay here.”

“What?” Twilight's mind shifted gears as the far more brash and direct ex-tyrant took over the conversation.

“That's the point King Obfuscation was trying to make. Instead of risking a worse or inescapable timeline on a miniscule chance of talking down a crazy unicorn you're not willing to kill, just cut your losses, plant yourself in a timeline that's not so horrible, and make the best of it,” said the changeling princess with a huff.

“Chrysalis, I can't just abandon my friends like that.”

“Then you need to start taking this seriously,” growled the changeling, her eyes practically glowing. “Maybe this timeline doesn't mean much to you, but it means everything to me. And now it's being gambled with by somepony unwilling to do what's necessary, all because she believes she can achieve a slightly better outcome!”

Twilight tried to take a soothing breath, but every calm feeling was rapidly evaporating under the changeling princess' criticisms. “You're right. I do believe I can do it,” she said, just audible enough to hear, her voice slowly getting louder. “Maybe this Twilight was better than me. Maybe she knew enough magic to bring you back,” she said, nodding towards Sombra. “Maybe she was diplomatic enough to talk you around and bring you to our side.”

Twilight was shaking slightly as she stared at Chrysalis. “Maybe she was more practical than me. Made better calls. But you know what? That's why she's dead!”

Her shout made the windows rattle and the furniture shake. Chrysalis and Sombra looked stunned. “She's dead because she took the most logical choice available to her. I'm alive because I believed that as long as I had my friends, I'd find an answer, no matter how difficult or dangerous it was. Maybe the odds were slim, but I was willing to take a chance and give it every ounce of effort I had!”

Chrysalis' rage seemed to seep into the air around her as she stood up from her seat. “Just because you bet everything and won doesn't make your decision any less idiotic! If you're going to destroy this world when you leave, the least you could do is make sure there's a world worth replacing it!”

“Chrysalis, enough.” Sombra's voice cut through the building rage. With a huff, Chrysalis sat back down, nearly cracking her glass as she picked it up in her magic. “I did not come here to judge your actions, merely to lay out our point of view. I'm quite aware I can’t stop you if you are truly determined.” For emphasis, he bowed his head and motioned with a hoof to his missing horn.

“My answer hasn't changed,” said Twilight firmly, looking down at the table in front of her.

“Then we have nothing further to discuss. I only ask that you wait until tomorrow morning so that I might give you something before you make your next trip.”

“I'll need at least that long to prepare the spell,” murmured Twilight softly. “I'll wait.”

With a final nod, Sombra rose from the table, Chrysalis following closely behind him. The Changeling Princess didn't even glance back, her magic grabbing the door behind her and slamming it shut.

“Are you okay, Twilight?” asked Spike hesitantly once the library was empty.

“I'm going to finish the spell right now,” replied the princess, heading up the stairs towards her room. “Tell anypony else who comes that I'm asleep.”

Magically constructing a scroll was tedious, tiring work that took a lot of energy and precision, but Twilight welcomed the monotony. Starswirl's tattered scroll rested beside her as she continued to construct the spell, copying it word for word, her quill as magically precise as she could make it. The drain on her magic was significant, but not debilitating, and the morning slowly turned into afternoon while she worked. She was just putting the finishing protections on it (tear-proof this time) when she heard a knock at the door.

“Spike, could you get that please?”

There was no response and the knocking continued.

Rubbing a hoof over her eyes, Twilight yawned and made her way down the stairs, feeling a bit too drained for a teleport, and opening the door by hoof.

“Howdy, Twi, hope you haven't been working yerself to death.” Behind the door with a large brown bag in her mouth was Applejack, and following close behind the usual scent of apples was the scent of warm food. All of a sudden, all the demands of her body she'd been ignoring while working came back in full force.

“Did Spike sell me out?” asked Twilight, stepping aside and inviting the farm pony inside.

“Course he did, but I coulda guessed it myself,” teased Applejack, giving her friend the bag and letting her withdraw the apple foodstuffs from within.

Half of it was gone within a minute, the princess quickly filling her neglected belly. It wasn't until Applejack produced a second bag that she finally slowed down enough to talk in-between bites. “Mmhh...needed that...more than I thought.”

“Everypony needs more apples in their life,” said the farm pony playfully. “I'm guessin' you've been hard at work on that spell all day.”

Twilight paused, the apple tart halfway to her mouth. Slowly, she nodded. “I just wanted to get it out of the way. I'm still not entirely convinced something crazy isn't going to happen. It has in every other world.”

“Don't need to justify yerself, Twi, I really did just come by to give you some food,” assured Applejack.

“Sorry, I just...had an unpleasant conversation with Sombra and Chrysalis this morning,” murmured Twilight sheepishly, floating the snack the rest of the way to her muzzle and finishing it off.

“Truthfully though, I would like you to stay. I know y'all don't see yerself like the other Twi, and we might be a bit off-puttin' to you, but it ain't much of a stretch for me to see you as a friend, and I ain't afraid of getting to know you again.”

Twilight's breath caught in her throat. Even though she knew what she wanted, or rather, 'had' to say, she couldn't get the words out. Fortunately, an interruption came in the form of a knock on the door.

“I'll get it,” said Twilight immediately, grateful for an excuse to do anything else, at least until she saw who was standing at the door. Pinkie Pie was front and center, a brown paper bag in her mouth, and behind her was Rarity with a package of her own.

“Heya, Twilight! We brought food!” said Pinkie in way of greeting.

“Oh, well, thank you, but Applejack already took care-”

“Not that kind of food, Spike told me to prepare some desserts!” amended Pinkie Pie, holding the bag in one hoof and pushing it open with her muzzle, the sweet scent of sugary confections quickly emerging.

Twilight couldn't help but wonder if Spike was sabotaging her, but outwardly she simply smiled and stepped aside, trying to ignore the aching feeling in her stomach.

Twilight could tell her friends were making an effort to avoid talking about her pending trip. Most of their talking points revolved around swapping stories, comparing and contrasting their worlds, and having a good laugh at the particularly facehoof-worthy things each of them had done.

“So yer sayin' Big Mac stole your Smarty Pants doll after that whole mess?”

“Yeah, I was way too embarrassed to ask for it back. I didn't even want to look at it again after Celestia cleaned that mess up for me,” grumbled Twilight. “I'm a little envious that your Twilight avoided it.”

“Oh, believe me darling, our Twilight had her moments. During her first year in Ponyville, she got into an exasperating feud with Blueblood that Celestia finally had to put a stop to. Something about the border of the Everfree Forest encroaching on Applejack's farm, yet not having the proper authority to remove it based on some legalese.”

Applejack let out a small groan. “Darn thing was so complicated I was about ready to give up the land if it would quiet things down.”

“And there was that time we had to pull her away from the Crystal Kingdom's library,” added Pinkie. “She was suuuuper into that place.”

“'Course, then we found out she was doin' research to heal Sombra and we all felt kinda bad,” murmured Applejack.

“I'll offer you forgiveness on behalf of my other self,” said Twilight with a small giggle. “Celestia knows I had to be pulled out the library several times my first few weeks here.”

Another knock sounded at the door. This time Twilight didn't even get up, pulling open the door with her magic and letting Fluttershy inside. Spike was with her, riding on the pink maned pegasus' back.

“Enjoy your time out, Spike?” said Twilight in way of greeting.

Spike picked up on the underlying accusation in her voice. “Hey, c'mon, Twi, I was just curious about what happened to me. It's like I just vanished off the face of Equestria.”

“You didn't stay around for much longer after...Tirek,” said Applejack. “We tried looking for ya, but the trail went cold around the dragon lands.”

Spike sighed, hopping off Fluttershy's back and taking his place at Twilight's side. “I still can't believe I'd go without saying a word. Something else must have happened.”

Twilight looked around the table, her eyes narrowing in on Rarity who seemed to be suddenly very interested in her hooves. “So, Rarity...did you let him down gently?”

Spike looked across at the purple-maned mare, realization dawning. “Oh...yeah, that might do it.”

Rarity winced and let out a sigh. “I'm sorry, Spike, I really am.”

“No, it's okay,” assured the young dragon. “It was a different me, and...well I guess I've always kind of known.”

“For what it's worth, it really was just a matter of your age, dear,” said Rarity softly. “I always enjoyed having you around and you were very helpful.”

“Thanks,” said Spike, somewhat morosely. “Still kinda hard to believe I just left like that though.”

“Everypony reacts differently to loss,” said Fluttershy softly. “I'm certain you'll come back someday.”

Twilight could only hope she was right. Long-lived dragons tended to have a skewed concept of time, and Spike was on track to outlive most of them, unless more of her friends had a destiny as an alicorn.

“So, Rarity, you've been subtly hiding that package for most of the evening now,” said Twilight, searching around for something to change the subject to.

“Ooh, is that a present? Wait, was this a present party?” said Pinkie, her eyes going wide as she sucked in a breath. “Oh no, the one party other Twilight is having over in this world and I forgot a present! What do I do?”

“You relax, dear. Not every party requires presents. Besides, this is a rather long overdue gift,” said Rarity as she levitated the package over the table.

Twilight quickly unwrapped it, her mouth opening slightly as she saw the gift inside. It was a pair of saddlebags. Sturdy, well made, and lacking much of Rarity's usual flair save for a set of very carefully embedded amethysts in the shape of her star-burst cutie mark. She didn't even need to try it on to know it fit perfectly. Back in her home world, she'd commissioned something similar, but had forgotten it after all the chaos with Tirek.

Twilight blinked. There was water in her eyes. She swallowed, opening the bags and seeing the careful work done inside; spaced sections suitable for holding books, scrolls, papers, quills, and even an ink jar. It was exactly how she liked it.

Her voice wavered as she spoke. She tried to say 'thank you', but all that came out was a shaky, barely audible, “I h-hate this.”

Rarity looked shocked. “R-really?”

“No! Not...not this! It's wonderful! I just...I hate all of this!” She took another breath, her body trembling. “I hate all these alternate timelines, I hate Celestia for being right and not putting guards in my castle, I hate Starswirl, I hate Starlight Glimmer, and I hate this stupid choice!”

Her head landed on the bag, her tears leaking out onto the treated material.

Almost immediately, she could feel hooves wrapping around her and hugging her tight. Pinkie and Applejack were on either side of her, and seconds later Rarity and Fluttershy were at her back, placing comforting hooves upon her.

“This world...*hic*...is wonderful, and...and I've been to so many worlds where things were terrible, but...I still want to go back,” she choked out. “And I hate feeling this way!”

Her friends were silent, the only sounds coming from Twilight's quiet sobs.

It was Rarity who finally broke the silence. “Then go back. I was intending this as a parting gift, I never wanted to guilt you into staying.”

“But...Starswirl, his theory stated-”

“Y'all know I ain't very smart when it comes to time stuff, but it seems to me like you sittin' here at all means Starswirl don't know everything,” said Applejack.

“Yeah...magic has a way of doing that to you,” said Twilight, chuckling a bit despite herself.

“So if that crazy pony was wrong once, he could be wrong again,” finished the farm pony. “Don't you worry about us. Our Twilight left us a good world to live in.”

“But...what if this world disappears once I leave?” asked Twilight softly, wiping a foreleg across her eyes.

“Then we'll still be your friends, right?” cut in Pinkie. “It's not like we're going to stop existing in that case, we'll just go back to being the ponies you remember. And you'll remember us too, so we definitely won't disappear!”

Twilight took a moment to mull that logic over in her head. It was a bit of a leap, but Starswirl's litany of time magic was full of logical leaps.

Her eyes turned to Fluttershy, the last of the group who had yet to speak, silently asking her if she thought the same way.

“I...just wanted to say that I'm happy we're friends,” said the pegasus softly. “I mean...I'm sure our Twilight knew that, but I never really told her directly.”

Twilight smiled, sniffing one last time before turning to pull the pegasus into an embrace. “If there is absolutely anything I have in common with the Twilight of this world, it's that she felt the same way.”

CRASH!

The five ponies sitting at the table jumped suddenly as the door was flung open, admitting a panting Rainbow Dash with wet fur. “Sorry...I'm late...weather was terrible. Did I miss anything?”

Rarity smiled and shook her head. “We'll fill you in darling, now dry yourself off,” she demanded, levitating and flinging a towel at the rainbow-maned pegasus.

Twilight let out a relieved sigh as she finished the last part of the spell scroll and rolled it up, carefully placing it in Rarity's bag. Task finished, the quill she'd been using moved over to another piece of parchment and finished a few last words before that too was rolled up and sealed. The moon was at its peak in the sky and the brief rainfall in the afternoon reflected the soft white glow. Like almost every night in Ponyville, it was a peaceful and serene sight.

The sight did nothing to quell the alicorn's tension though.

“Spike, you awake?”

There was a grumbling reply as the young dragon was roused from his basket. “Mmhh?”

“It's time to get going.”

Spike's eyes shot open and the blanket was flung off at the revelation. “What? But I thought-”

“It has to be now,” the princess insisted. “If I wait any longer, I'm not going to have the will to leave. Please, just...don't argue.”

Spike's eyes looked from the pony to the scroll on her desk. “Are you going to at least message Celestia first?”

Twilight swallowed. “If this world stays behind when I leave, they'll find it on my desk,” she explained, picking up the dragon with her magic and placing him on her back.

Spike let out a small sigh. “Alright, let's go then,” he murmured. “I hope you're not going to regret this.”

Twilight could only hope the same. Concentrating, the alicorn pictured the forest that she'd appeared in just yesterday, and with a violet flash they were gone. A moment later, the forest appeared around them with the crystal table just a few meters away, glowing like a beacon in the moonlight.

“So do we have a plan to deal with Starlight Glimmer?” asked Spike, his voice quiet.

Twilight nodded her head as she activated the scroll inside her bag. “I have a plan. I just need-”

SHINK!

The spell was suddenly cut off, the surrounding forest illuminated as a bright violet shield shimmered into being around the crystal table.

Twilight swallowed. She recognized that particular color of magic. Slightly off, slightly different, far more powerful than she remembered, but there was only one pony it could be.

“Heya, sis...you weren't going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?”

Slowly, Twilight turned. Standing in the open now was her brother, a warm smile on his face, a kind look in his eyes, a familiar shield-and-star cutie mark on his flank...

And a pair of wings at his sides.

Part 3: Steadfast

Shields had always been Shining Armor's specialty. He'd used one to hold back an army of changelings once, and that had been while he was dazed, mildly brainwashed, and unable to reach his full power. As an experiment, Twilight had once tested her brother's shields, and it had taken nearly five minutes of concentrated effort to break through his best work.

And that had been after she’d gotten her wings.

“Heya...BBBFF,” murmured Twilight softly. “Those wings look good on you.”

“Thanks, sis,” he replied, his voice equally soft as he walked towards the table, standing between it and his sister. “Although I should thank you, too.”

Twilight shook her head. “I never actually managed that in my world. I'd always assumed Cadance had a plan to help you ascend.”

Shining chuckled. “Maybe she did, but as it turns out, fighting your way through Tartarus and demanding answers of the guards there works just fine.” His focus shifted from his sister to the dragon on her back. “It's good to see you too, Spike. The Crystal Kingdom has really missed your visits.”

Spike sighed, his claws tightly clutching Twilight's mane. “You're not letting us leave, are you?” he accused.

Shining avoided his gaze, looking off to the side. “You know...when Tirek and Discord invaded Canterlot, I tried putting up a fight. Mobilized the guard force and the Wonderbolts. Ever since Chrysalis invaded, Celestia made sure to keep a robust standing guard force on call for emergencies. I thought it would be enough.”

“Shining, it wasn't your fault,” said Twilight gently.

Her brother continued as though he hadn't even heard her. “But then Tirek and Discord arrived. Tore through our guards like tissue paper. Left us all drained of our magic. A few hours later, I learned that my sister was dead.”

Twilight swallowed. She could feel Spike's claws digging more deeply into her mane.

“And somehow...she's back. Even when that idiot guarding Tartarus said your spirit wasn't salvageable, here you are...about to throw yourself into another unwinnable fight.”

“Guess we know who tipped him off,” grumbled Spike.

“Shining, you didn't fail me,” insisted Twilight. “No one could have predicted that disaster. It was just a lot of things that all went wrong at-”

“No, sis, I did,” insisted Shining, cutting her off and turning back towards the table, his horn starting to glow. “But I'm not going to let it happen again. Not when I have the power to change things.”

The violet shield glowed brightly for a few moments and then slowly started to shrink, pressing against the crystal map from all sides. For a moment nothing seemed to happen, and then magical sparks began to fly, an earsplitting grinding sound filling the clearing as the crystals began to compress against one another.

“Stop it!”

Even knowing it was hopeless, Twilight threw her magic at the shield, scouring it for any sort of weakness, slowing the compression a little bit, but not enough.

“Are you going to force your friends and family to lose you all over again?” demanded the white alicorn. “Velvet and Night Light heard you were here, do you really think so little of this world that you'd abandon them, too?”

The magic intensity increased as Shining redoubled his efforts. Twilight felt sweat dripping down her brow, but she pushed back, feeding her own magic into the shield and disrupting his ability to control its size. “I'm not your Twilight!” she snapped, trying not to choke on the words. “And it's an insult to your Twilight's memory to try and replace her with me!”

“Then why did you call me your BBBFF?” he demanded.

Twilight's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Her magical hold slipped and for one moment she could see a hairline fracture appear on the table as Shining took full control of the shield.

CRACK! BOOM!

The crash of thunder in the clearing was deafening. Streaking so close to her mane that Twilight could feel the heat, several bolts of yellow lightning struck the shield, making spiderweb cracks along it until one finally shattered it. The following detonation of magic bathed the clearing in a bright violet light.

“You can't keep her here, Shiny.”

There was a sizzling sound followed by a pop, the sudden influx of air and magic nearly making Twilight stumble as Discord appeared next to her. The draconequus had a grim look on his face, and in the mild darkness, the scar that ran along his muzzle and down his neck glowed eerily.

The look on her brother's face shifted slowly from one of resignation to rage. Twilight had never seen her brother so angry before. “So...once wasn't enough for you, Discord? You want to take away my sister again?”

“She was never your sister to begin with, and right now she has her own brother who is missing her,” he replied. “Twilight, it's time for you to leave.”

The alicorn hesitated. She didn't want to do this, not with Shining angry enough to fight her hoof and horseshoe to stay, but she couldn't see any way to talk him down. Resisting the urge to yell out an apology, Twilight ran, barely paying attention as a wall of pink clouds blocked Shining's attempt at another shield.

“Grab it, Spike!” she shouted, levitating the scroll from her bag and giving it to the dragon while leaping up onto the table and preparing her spell. The magic built up and the portal began to distort the sky, and then suddenly Twilight felt another magical presence. With a snarl and a flash of green fire, Chrysalis appeared on the table in front of her, the flames lashing out at the vulnerable piece of parchment.

In her panic, Twilight did the first thing that came to mind, focusing her magic on Spike and the scroll and teleporting them away. Cursing herself for missing the changeling's presence, Twilight faced her new opponent. “Thirty worlds, and the one time you actually seem to be a decent ruler I still end up fighting you.”

“Then don't fight me,” said Chrysalis, her voice lacking its usual dulcet tone. “But if you're determined to erase this world, I'm not going to stand idly by and watch it hap-.”

Twilight's magic lashed out before the changeling princess had even finished talking, striking her point-blank with Starlight's crystal encasement spell. The violet prison formed swiftly around her, but moments later green cracks began to appear, shattering it almost immediately.

“Still trying to play the pacifist?” mocked Chrysalis with clear derision in her voice. “If I'm going to cease existing once you leave, you should have no trouble killing me!”

Her horn glowed and her eyes flashed. Even though she'd been expecting it, the mental attack hammered at her defenses, a cry leaving her mouth as what felt like hundreds of needles pricked at her brain, searching for a way in.

“You...always...use this!” gasped Twilight, sweating slightly as she focused her magic internally, compressing her thoughts and placing her own mental barrier around them. Taking a breath, Twilight pushed outwards, purging the foreign influence and sending Chrysalis staggering back as she forcibly broke the link. Her follow-up blast was very non-pacifistic and sent the changeling princess flying. “If I didn't know how to defend myself mentally, you'd be dealing with Nightmare Moon right now.”

Her horn glowed, the pattern for a stasis spell starting to form, only for her magic to slam against Shining's shield as her brother teleported in between her and Chrysalis. Scrambling to her hooves, Chrysalis turned and retaliated, pushing right back with a blast of her own. Twilight braced herself, only for the blast to go wide as Discord appeared and casually slapped it aside with his tail, detonating it against one of the surrounding trees.

“Never thought I'd see the two of you working together,” said Twilight, taking a moment to catch her breath as Chrysalis did the same.

“And you're working with your own killer,” snapped Shining. “Today is full of surprises.”

Twilight flinched at that, opening her mouth to protest, but Discord cut her off. “Save your breath, princess. You know what you have to do.”

Raising his clawed hand into the air, Discord snapped his talons. The sound seemed to reverberate around the clearing, making Twilight's very bones shake, and the effects came soon after.

Beneath her, the grass turned a bright shade of blue. The white rays of moonlight shifted color, bathing the ground in a prism of light. Scents of flora, fauna, and more spices than she could name drifted past her nose. The very air around her felt like it was being twisted, and the magic inside her body seemed to protest simply standing in proximity to the Avatar of Chaos. Across from her, Shining and Chrysalis were feeling the strain as well, the violet glow around her brother's horn flickering before fading entirely along with his shield.

“Do try your best against Chrysalis,” said Discord, his voice coming out distorted and deeper than she'd ever heard before. “I'd hate to die for no reason.”

“Wait, what are you-”

Like a viper, Discord moved, sliding along the ground, the light bending and twisting around him as he moved through the miniature realm of chaos he'd created. In the next moment, he tackled Shining, and with a multi-colored flash of light, the two of them were gone.

As if a rubber band had just been flicked, the surroundings suddenly snapped back into order, the colors, scents, and sights all reverting to normal. The lingering chaos magic in the air vanished completely, leaving Twilight with the changeling queen between her and the crystal table.

Panicked questions flooded into Twilight's mind. What had Discord just done? Was her brother okay? What did he mean by dying? She had no time to spend thinking about any of that, though. Chrysalis had recovered and she looked just as determined as before.

Focusing her magic, Twilight blinked from existence and reappeared on the table, forming her own shield around it and herself, blocking Chrysalis out. “Spike! Where are you?” she called out. She hadn't teleported him far, just to the edge of the clearing. Her eyes darted around as Chrysalis furiously attacked her shield, but the treeline remained free of dragons.

Cursing internally, Twilight turned her attention back to the changeling princess. Had the other members of her hive found him? Was this fight being watched by them right now? There was no time to think. Regardless of what was going on, she wasn't going to get the time to look while Chrysalis was in the way.

Not even bothering to drop the shield, Twilight fired a blast straight through it, scorching the ground as the changeling princess jumped away, retaliating with a blast of her own. Spreading her wings, Twilight took to the air, dodging the energy and scanning the surroundings, hoping to see a flash of purple somewhere. No such luck.

“If you really cared for your home, you wouldn't let me stand in your way,” shouted Chrysalis after her, suddenly vanishing in a flash of green light and appearing above her, gathering power for a massive magical attack. Unwilling to risk the crystal table below her, Twilight landed back on the table and shielded, wincing as she felt the desperation in the magic. She was starting to put her own life force into her attacks now.

“Please...stop,” said Twilight, landing back on the table and weathering the assault behind a shield. Cracks were forming, but just as quickly fading as Twilight pushed more of her magic into it. “I just want to go home.”

“You have a home here!” snarled the changeling, pushing even harder, the entire clearing filling with a brilliant green light. “And ponies that care about you! And right now, you're taking them all for granted!”

Twilight flinched, her hooves sliding along the crystal as she was pushed back harder and harder, the magical assault getting more intense by the moment. Taking a deep breath, the alicorn watched as more and more cracks appeared...and then suddenly she pulled the magic out of the shield. Chrysalis' blast destroyed it almost instantly, striking hard against the crystal map, but Twilight was gone, teleporting in the distraction and appearing right by the changeling's side.

Chrysalis tried to turn, but Twilight's spell was already out, hitting her center of mass. The crystal prison formed around her, far stronger and sturdier this time, entrapping her once more. This time she didn't break free. “I'm sorry,” said Twilight softly, fighting back tears. “I never wanted to take away anyone's home.”

Five minutes was the best she could hope for. She needed to find Spike and she desperately needed to leave. All of the magic being thrown around had doubtless attracted some sort of attention by now. Closing her eyes, Twilight expanded her magical senses and searched for her assistant, looking for his unique signature.

“Come on, Spike, where are you?” she said to herself, voice shaking slightly as seconds ticked by and her search grew longer.

Finally, on the edge of her senses, she could feel him. The aura of chaos that Discord had manifested must have been wider than she thought, and it was probably a good thing his magic hadn't come into contact with the scroll. Just as she was about to teleport, however, the atmosphere around her suddenly became distorted.

She turned her head upwards just in time to see the air ripple and a tear open up in the sky. Moments later, Discord’s body was flung from the tear, plummeting towards the ground and hitting hard. Right behind him was her brother, wings outstretched and glowing with a white aura that was almost painful to look at as he gently floated downwards and landed on the table.

“Order magic...such a hassle...” complained the draconequus with a hacking cough. “Those paladin types were never any fun.”

“Celestia may have let you remain free after what you did, but I wasn't going to take any chances. Turns out it was time well spent,” said Shining, his voice echoing slightly.

Discord chuckled, twisting on the ground as he tried to get back on his feet. His body was covered in burns, and the scar along his muzzle was glowing an angry red color. “Better take your chance to kill me now...once your sister leaves, it won't matter.”

The white alicorn didn't need a second invitation. Without any warning, a dazzling white light flew from his horn towards his downed opponent. Discord didn't even try to move.

“Stop it!”

Twilight teleported, but she didn't have time to throw up a shield. Her wing came out, shielding her face as the white light traveled towards her...only to splash harmlessly against her body, leaving behind a gentle warmth.

“Not even a singe?” came Discord's weak voice as Twilight checked herself over for injury. “Not one bit of chaos in you...a shame, really...”

Twilight swallowed, turning and facing her brother, the bright aura fading from view as his natural color replaced it. “I'm going back,” she said firmly. “This isn't my world. My brother isn't a killer.”

Shining recoiled as if he'd been physically struck. “Twilight, he-”

“I don't care! You're not my brother, and I'm not your sister!” The magical blast that followed shattered her brother's shield like it was glass, the heavy emotional blow doing just as much damage as her magic. His wings spread and he took to the air, but Twilight followed, pummeling him with wave after wave of magic, driving him back from the table and towards the forest, her continued attacks stripping trees of their branches and leaves. He tried to summon more shields, but none of them lasted longer than a few seconds under her assault, and a particularly potent blast finally broke through his guard completely, sending him flying backwards into one of the trees.

Panting, Twilight landed on the ground, watching her brother shakily get back on his hooves. She didn't give him a chance, though, her horn charging an increasingly familiar spell.

Pop!

The sound of a teleport registered in her ears just before a weight landed on her back. For an instant she could feel the chitinous body of Chrysalis pressing against her before a pair of fangs sank into her neck, delivering a bite and a payload of venom that quickly coursed through her system. She opened her mouth in a cry of pain, but even as she felt her body going numb, her magic reacted, grabbing the changeling princess in a telekinetic hold and slamming her into one of the nearby trees.

The queen’s body crumpled into a heap. She didn't get up again.

Internally, her magic was fighting against the venom, but it was going to take time, and Shining wasn't going to give her that time. “Sis...even if you hate me for the rest of your life...I can't lose you again. I won't lose you again.”

Twilight didn't respond. She couldn't trust her own voice. She tried to focus her magic, but the process was sluggish. She could see her brother's magic building, she knew what spell he was going to cast, and she knew she had no time to defend.

POP!

The magical report of a teleport filled the clearing and white light burned her eyes. For a moment, Twilight thought she had looked directly at the sun, and when the spots cleared from her vision, she found that wasn't entirely inaccurate.

Standing regally between her and Shining was Celestia, her horn glowing, holding Shining's magical blast encased in her own golden aura. With a slight turn of her head, she sent it skyward, the magic quickly fizzling out.

Silence dominated the clearing as the Sun Princess settled her wings, seeming almost casual as she looked from one alicorn to the other. “My apologies for stepping into the middle of your sibling dispute, but take it from my experience, these alicorn fights never end well for Equestria.”

Twilight wasn't sure if Celestia was joking or not. Instead she simply opted to sit down and catch her breath. From the princess' back, her number one assistant finally revealed himself, quickly running to her side, a worried look on his face. “Twilight, are you alright?”

The purple alicorn chuckled weakly. “Heya, Spike...guess I have you to thank for this?” she asked, motioning towards Celestia with a hoof.

“I remember the Want-It-Need-It spell even if you don't want to,” grumbled the young dragon. “I told you we should have just messaged her first.”

Twilight couldn't help but agree. Before she could respond, though, another bright flash of magic filled the clearing, and a slightly disheveled Cadance appeared beside Celestia. “Oh good, Equestria still seems to be in one piece,” she muttered, quickly sparing Twilight a smile before rounding on her husband. “And so are you, miraculously. Although once I'm through with you-”

“But Cadance, she-”

“-is trying to go home, Shining. To the ponies she loves and the ponies who love her.”

The rest of the conversation became too quiet for Twilight to hear as Celestia filled her vision. “How are you feeling?”

“A little bit paralyzed, depleted, and emotionally unstable...but otherwise fine.”

Celestia smiled. “Well, perhaps I can fix one of those problems for you.” Her horn glowed and the last few traces of Chrysalis' venom faded from her body.

Twilight shakily got to her feet. That had certainly helped, but it was going to take some time for her magic to properly regenerate. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you before I left, I just...”

“You were in a very difficult situation, making a choice nopony should ever be forced to make,” said Celestia calmly. “At the very least, you should be proud of yourself for not hesitating to the point of inaction.”

“I don't feel proud...I feel miserable,” confessed the smaller alicorn.

“Many such decisions you'll make as a princess will leave you feeling like that,” counseled Celestia. “Such is the price you pay for the title. Still, I am glad I managed to catch you before you left.”

Twilight wobbled, leaning against Spike for support. “I'm probably not going to be leaving just yet. I still have another fight ahead of me and I can't go back with my energy drained.”

“Good. I'll need a few hours to go over this with you,” came a new voice from the treeline. Twilight's head whipped around just in time to see Sombra emerge, a cardboard box balanced on his back.

“I shall go check on Discord,” said Celestia, her face carefully neutral.

“And what exactly is that?” asked Twilight as Sombra lowered himself to the ground and slid the box off his back.

“Every single note I could find that Twilight made in her pursuit to pull my essence back together,” said Sombra.

Twilight gasped. “You mean-”

“Yes. I don't fully know what misery you suffered in your world from my other self, and I've no real right to ask you for anything...”

Twilight didn't even let him finish before the lid was off the box and the papers were spread out in front of her, eyes rapidly scanning across the immaculate hoof-writing. Many of the diagrams and spells she'd never even heard of, but her other self had cross-referenced everything and had a fully formed index of all the books she'd used.

Sombra coughed into a hoof, realizing that the alicorn was completely absorbed. “Right then...I suppose I'll just go check on Chrysalis.”

It became apparent almost immediately that she wasn't going to be able take everything with her, but it was feasible to pick out the most important bits and pieces and take them with her in Rarity's bag. The work was soothing, helping her relax and take her mind off the coming trip, her magic gradually recovering as she read. Slowly, papers and scrolls filled her saddlebags as she catalogued and organized her other self’s research. This was still going to be a job and a half, and there was a small possibility that the rituals and magic might work a bit differently in her world, but hopefully she wouldn't have to spend two years on the task like her counterpart had.

It wasn't until the sun suddenly rose in the sky that Twilight realized how much time had passed. She looked up just in time to see the glow from Celestia's horn fade as the sun finished its ascent into the sky. Shining and Cadance had retreated to the other side, laying down beneath one of the trees in the soft grass, the pink mare keeping a wing tightly wrapped around her husband as he looked at his forehooves. Sombra and Chrysalis also seemed to be in a deep discussion of some kind, and Discord had vanished completely.

Feeling strong enough to stand, Twilight slowly made her way over to Sombra and Chrysalis, avoiding the gaze of the latter. “I think I have everything I need,” she said softly. “I can't promise you a hundred percent that it will work, but I will try.”

“That is the best I can hope for,” acknowledged Sombra with a nod of his head. He paused, drawing out a moment of silence before gently nudging the changeling princess with a hoof.

Scowling, the princess spoke up. “When I was young, my mother, Queen Chrysalide, took me to Canterlot in disguise. We took a guided tour of the castle, but I wandered off and got lost in the hedge maze. I was stuck in there for nearly an hour, but a royal guard named Stalwart found me and helped me find my way out.”

Twilight hesitated, not certain of how to respond.

“It's a memory I've never shared with anyone,” she snapped, clearly irritated. “And since it happened before you were born, I'm certain your Chrysalis has the same memory, so...if you managed to find me in your world...then maybe...”

“I'll try,” said Twilight firmly. “Do you, um...have any idea where you might be?”

“No,” said Chrysalis flatly. “But you have a dragon who has my fire-mail address. You'll get an answer, just...be patient with my other self. She's a bit of an ass, but she'll come around...if she knows what's good for her.”

Despite herself, Twilight couldn't help but giggle as a small tinge of red appeared on the changeling princess' muzzle.

“I do have one last gift for you,” said Sombra, interrupting the retort on Chrysalis' lips. “I never really named this spell, and I would not recommend it except in the most dire of circumstances, but I believe this is one of those few appropriate times.” Producing a scroll, he gave it to Twilight who quickly read over its contents.

“This...this is the spell you used on my brother,” she exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “The one that made crystals grow out of his horn!”

“A nasty piece of work I engineered back when I was king and consumed with dark magic. Unless this Starlight Glimmer knows dark magic of her own, she won't be able to overpower it,” said Sombra grimly. “It's also quite painful.”

Twilight nodded, committing the spell to memory before rolling up the scroll and levitating it back, a new plan already forming in her mind. “I understand, but I think I passed the 'last resort' phase of this battle ten worlds ago.”

“Understandable,” agreed Sombra. “Just-”

“I'm well aware of the perils of dark magic,” she insisted. “I'll be just as happy as you if this is the only time I ever need to use it.”

Slowly, her legs took her in the direction of Cadance and Shining. The latter was laid out on the ground, looking far more depressed than she'd ever seen her brother before. Even Cadance's comforting wing around him didn't seem to be cheering him up.

“So...did my other self do the sunshine dance with you every time we met after a long absence?” asked Twilight, trying to find something to break the tension.

Cadance looked pleasantly surprised. “Oh? You still do that in your world?”

“What? Of course I do! ‘Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake...'”

Standing up gracefully, Cadance extended her hoof just in time to receive the clap and finish the dance with her. “...clap your hooves and do a little shake!”

Giggling like a filly, Cadance reached forward and drew the violet princess into a hug. “I'll be honest, I was a bit sad when we stopped doing it. Our Twilight thought it was too embarrassing.”

Twilight scoffed. “Hmph. As if I'd let a little embarrassment stop me from performing our sacred bonding ritual. Not to mention that it helped me tell you apart from Chrysalis.”

“Changelings have standards!” called out Chrysalis from behind her.

Flicking a wing in her direction, Twilight sighed and turned to her brother. “So...I'm pretty sure you could make a case for being the ‘Celestia’ of us, especially considering the white coat and the 'defender of the realm' motif, but I'm not sure I'd make a very convincing Nightmare Moon. ‘Eternal Twilight’ doesn't quite have the same ring to it.”

Shining's head jerked up, the stallion taking a moment to get the joke. “That's not funny.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“No.”

Cadance sighed, lighting her horn with a familiar spell. Shining opened his mouth to protest but the princess of love silenced him with a hoof as a bright pink heart slowly emerged from her horn, briefly shining bright enough to make the sun seem dim by comparison, before it popped like a bubble.

The effects were gradual, but potent. Twilight saw her brother's eyes water, and then a choked sob escaped. “Dammit, Cadance, I...” His head upwards, his eyes finally meeting her own. “I missed you so much, sis...a-and when you were about to leave without a word, I...I screwed up...”

Twilight knelt down, her forehooves wrapping tightly around his neck as she rested her head against his. “I'm sorry...I felt that if I had to disappoint anypony else, I wouldn't have the strength to leave.”

Shining's only response was to hug her in turn, letting a few tears dampen her mane while his wife soothingly rubbed a hoof along his back. Twilight remained there, holding her brother close, until Cadance's spell had run its course and her brother was once again able to suppress his emotions.

“You know I hate it when you do that,” grumbled Shining, slowly withdrawing from the hug.

“You would have hated yourself even more if you let her leave thinking that you resented her,” countered Cadance bluntly.

Shining nodded, taking a breath before standing up, settling his wings at his sides as he looked down at his sister. “Twilight...I still don't want you to go...but if your Shining Armor is anything like me, then he deserves to have his little sister in his life. I wish I had something more to offer you than words, but...you have my support.”

Twilight gave him a brilliant smile, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her back. The moment was quickly followed by a giggle, though. “Wow...you actually sounded like a prince there for a moment.”

Cadance let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Oh good, I've been working with him on that for ages.”

“Hey, c'mon, I'm trying to be serious here!”

“Oh...hehe...I know, it's just...I'm placing it alongside years of memories of you being a dork.”

“Hey!”

“Oh, don't fool yourself, Twilight...your brother is still a complete dork.”

Shining opened his mouth to respond but closed it suddenly. “Princess,” he said, his tone far more somber.

Celestia sighed, though there was a smile on her face. “Celestia, Shining. Call me Celestia.”

“I'll work on it, princess.”

Shaking her head with amusement, the Sun Princess turned towards her displaced student. “Twilight, if you wish to leave now, no one here will stop you, but I believe the rest of your friends and family would like to bid you farewell first. If you don't think you can handle it...”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I'll stay.”

“Oh good, and here I thought I was going to have to beg for a couple hours’ extension.” The sound of a balloon popping followed the familiar voice as the draconequus suddenly appeared in the clearing. There were several burns on his body from his battle with Shining and the sunscar was still glowing slightly, but he seemed to have almost completely regained his energy.

Twilight gave him a puzzled look. “What do you need a couple hours for?”

“Oh, don't you worry your pretty little tail over that,” replied Discord, giving her a pat on the head. “I'm just feeling...inspired right now, and this might be the last chance I get to cause some real chaos for this world.”

“Discord...” Celestia's voice held a hint of warning.

“Nothing irreversible, I promise. And far, far away from Canterlot, too.”

The Sun Princess sighed. “Well...it's not as though you need my permission, but fine. You may indulge yourself this once with my blessing. It's the very least I could do after you helped my former student.”

“Fantastic!” His claws snapped and suddenly he was next to Twilight, crouched low to the ground, his pawed hand shielding his muzzle as he whispered into her ear. “Princess, when you get back to your world and fix everything, find my other self and give him the secret passphrase.” His voice died down to a point where only Twilight could hear him.

Twilight's eyes narrowed and then widened before her head jerked away. “I'm a stupid what?! No! I'm not saying that!”

Discord let out a chuckle. “Ah well, worth a try. Toodles!”

With another snap of his claw, the draconequus vanished, leaving the flustered princess behind.

“Where do you think he's going?” asked Shining a moment later.

Twilight shook her head. “To cause somepony else trouble for once. So who's showing up?”

Chrysalis tilted her head slightly, as if turning her head towards an invisible voice. “Pinkie has already spread the word, so you should probably expect half of Ponyville at this point.”

“That's not going to be too overwhelming, is it?” asked Cadance gently.

“No...this is a world worth remembering, and if everything does fade away once I leave and put things right, I'll make sure it stays in my thoughts.”

Just past the treeline, she could see the bright coats of her friends, with several more ponies following behind them. The scent of food and sweets began to fill the air, and from the corner of her eye, she could see Celestia's magic at work, turning the temperature from cool to pleasantly warm as the sun's rays seemed to get slightly brighter.

“So, uh...we do have a plan for beating Starlight Glimmer this time, right?” said Spike cautiously, taking a place by her side. “I'd really rather not go through all this again.”

“Oh, don't worry, Spike, this is definitely going to be the last world she sends us to.”

An Undetermined Number of Miles Away...

Starlight Glimmer smiled as she turned and checked herself in the mirror, making sure her makeup was in place. 'Our Town' had started out a bit rocky at first, but over the past few months, things had descended into a peaceful tranquility. While the occasional critic still showed up every now and again, nopony yet had been able to resist the allure of equality.

Just as she was about to get her morning meal, though, a hurried knock sounded on her door. Frowning slightly at the break in routine, Starlight answered the increasingly frantic pounding. “Sugar Belle, how wonderful to see you,” said the unicorn with a warm smile. “Is something wrong?”

“No! I mean...no. It's just...a new pony came into town this morning and he's...strange. A-and you said you wanted to be informed of all new arrivals, too!”

Starlight smiled, her forehoof extending to give the other unicorn's slightly gray mane a rub. “Thank you, Sugar Belle, you've done well.”

The new arrival in question was already drawing a crowd by the time she arrived. He was...odd, to say the least. His coat was brown, but near each of the legs were distinctly different colored patches of fur that extended towards his hooves. A pair of wings adorned his back, one bright blue and the other a murky gray color, and his tail was twisted into a braid of two alternating shades of red. Even his mane was slightly off-putting, striped black and white almost like a zebra, and on his flank was a bold black cutie mark consisting of a circle with what looked like an eye in the center and eight arrows pointing outwards from it.

“...never have enough space on my coat to put all the colors I want there, so I like to change it constantly,” he told the crowd of gathered ponies. Before her eyes, the brown coat seemed to shift slightly, turning a dull shade of green instead. “Now tell me, where is this leader of yours you speak so highly of?”

Pushing her way through the crowd, Starlight finally came face-to-face with the oddly colored pegasus. “Welcome to our humble town,” she said in greeting. “My name is Starlight Glimmer. Have you come here to learn about true friendship?”

Beneath his pony disguise, Discord grinned. “Oh boy! You bet I have!” His hoof rose a few inches off the ground before coming down against the dirt, filling the air with the distinct sound of a pair of claws being snapped.

Part 4: Epilogue

Teleporting long distances was a risk. It took a lot of magical power, and if anything was in the way at the destination, the caster would be bounced back to their starting point minus the power they used. Fortunately, Twilight knew of one place in the Crystal Kingdom that wasn't going to have anything in the way, and with a fizzling sound, she, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer appeared right next to the crystal heart.

The last of the three was dangling in the air thanks to Twilight's telekinetic hold. Along her horn was a series of small, violet crystals, glowing brightly as they absorbed her magic. Purposefully, the alicorn began to walk, pulling the unicorn behind her past the guards who simply saluted after they'd gotten over their surprise.

Starlight's expression was subdued, her muzzle turned towards the ground, avoiding the gaze of both the dragon and the princess, wincing on occasion as her horn sparked in defiance of the crystals. “I...don't suppose you could remove this?” asked Starlight weakly. “I promised you I wouldn't run.”

“And I believe you,” said Twilight. “But the pony who taught me that spell didn't teach me the counterspell.”

Another spark jumped from her horn, the unicorn briefly biting her lip to stop a cry of pain. “I really didn't know just how important your friendship was to Equestria.”

Twilight held her tongue, silencing the sharp retort that immediately came to mind. If Starlight had just done half as much research on them as she'd done on Starswirl's idiotic spells...

“All friendships are important, Starlight,” she said instead. “I just wish you hadn't given up on yours so easily.”

“What? But I-”

“Did you ever try to write?” interrupted Twilight before the unicorn could finish. “Visit? Connect with him again? Look him up once you were older and had your own income?”

“But...but he-”

“-Obviously didn't realize how much his friendship meant to you,” finished Twilight for her. “He's not blameless, but you put yourself into this spiral of depression just as much as he did.”

Starlight let out a miserable sigh as she floated along behind the princess, trying to work some feeling back into her numb legs. “So...are we heading to the library?”

“No, we're going to see a specialist,” said Twilight cryptically.

Sunburst groaned, rolling over on his bed and knocking the book he'd been reading to the floor. It was early. Too early. Several choice words entered his mind in the time it took for him to make his way from the second floor of his house down to the front door, but every single one of those words died on his tongue when he saw who was on the doorstep.

“P-princess Twilight! Sir Spike! And...Starlight...Glimmer?”

The other unicorn looked almost as surprised as him, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. In a panic, she looked towards the princess, but Twilight ignored her. “Greetings. You have my apology for waking you at such an early hour, but I can't afford to wait any longer than I have.”

Sunburst blinked and turned his focus back to the princess. “It's no worry at all, Princess! I'd be happy to lend you my assistance, but I'm not sure-”

“Excellent,” interrupted the alicorn, stepping inside and pulling Starlight along behind her, bringing her upwards into the air and displacing several books from the couch before setting the unicorn on the cushions. “I'm sure you've noticed the crystals around her horn, yes?”

Sunburst adjusted his glasses, squinting slightly at the violet crystals that were affixed to her magical focus. “Yes, I see...that is some rather nasty dark magic. I'm not sure if I have the power to-”

“I don't expect you to break it,” said Twilight with a wave of her wing. “But from what I understand, you have extensive knowledge of the Crystal Library, so if anypony knew where to look for information on how to dispel such magics, it would be you. I'll be back in a couple hours to provide the power for your counterspell. Any questions?”

“N-no, none at all! I'll get right on it!”

“Good.” The princess turned and walked towards the door, the baby dragon giving the two of them a sheepish wave before it shut behind them.

As one, the two unicorns let out a breath, the tension in the room departing along with the young princess.

“Sorry for dropping in unannounced,” said Starlight meekly, shifting slightly on the couch.

Sunburst hesitated, searching around for something to say. Finally he settled on courtesy. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Only if you're willing to levitate it for me,” grumbled Starlight, gesturing to her horn with a hoof.

Sunburst brought a hoof to his mouth and coughed. “Right...sorry. So, um...why did Princess Twilight hit you with such a nasty spell?”

Starlight looked surprised. “You can tell?”

“Of course,” said the unicorn confidently. “There's clearly quite a bit of power behind the spell, far more than that of a normal unicorn, or even a powerful one for that matter. And the color of the crystals matches the glow of the princess' magic she was using to um...carry you.”

Starlight chuckled weakly. “You always were good at analyzing magic like that. And, well...I may have screwed up. A lot.”

The researcher’s inquisitive look told Starlight that her answer clearly wasn't satisfying enough. Groaning, the unicorn took a breath and let it all out at once. “I stole her cutie mark, broke into the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Royal Canterlot library, stole a forbidden time spell, briefly fractured the timeline via a butterfly effect, and nearly doomed all of Equestria.”

Sunburst gaped. It was tempting to ask if she was pulling one over on him, but a memory from his foal-hood reminded him that Starlight was terrible at making jokes. “And...you're not in prison?”

“Probation,” murmured Starlight. “Although after what I did...” She trailed off, avoiding his gaze and looking around the cramped but cozy house. “You seem like you've done well for yourself.”

“Ah, well...not really,” he confessed. “I'm mostly just a researcher, helping to catalog and organize the texts in the crystal library. I...never really had your talent for magic.”

“At least you put your magic to good use,” countered Starlight. “All I did was make everypony around me miserable and turn Equestria into a wasteland.” The crystals on her horn suddenly began to glow, a few sparks leaving her horn and a yelp of pain escaping her mouth.

Sunburst was by her side in an instant. “You can tell me about it later,” he said hurriedly, his horn glowing softly as he began to analyze the magic afflicting her. “I have a couple of spells that might ease the pain at least.”

Starlight nodded her thanks, letting out a sigh of relief as her old friend's magic began to take the edge off the pain.

“Do you really not have a counterspell for that crystal magic?” asked Spike, the skepticism clear in his voice.

Twilight smiled, her eyes opening as she let the eavesdropping spell fade. “Of course I have a counterspell, Spike. I would never have used it otherwise. I just figured this would be a good opportunity for Starlight to connect with her old friend.”

“So what are we going to do in the meantime?” asked Spike, as Twilight began to leisurely walk towards the crystal palace.

“Oh, I've got a checklist,” said Twilight with a smile. “Borrow some books from the crystal library to help Sombra, convince Cadance to start negotiations with Chrysalis, and make sure Starswirl didn’t leave any more world-altering spells lying around.”

Spike took a glance around him, as if checking to see if anypony was trying to listen in on their conversation. Leaning towards Twilight's ear, the dragon whispered, “So are you ever going to let Starlight know that the mess she caused might actually be beneficial in the end?”

“Not a chance in Tartarus, and if you so much as hint that to her, I'm cutting off your ice cream supply for a year.”

“Okay, okay...yeesh.”

“Which reminds me. Spike, take a letter to Celestia. I'm bumping up 'sealing Starswirl's archive' to number two on the list.”

Reaching into her Rarity-brand saddlebag, Spike instinctively withdrew the supplies he needed and began to write, easily managing the dexterous feat of riding and scribbling simultaneously. “So what's the first thing on your list?” he asked curiously.

“Spending some quality time with my brother,” said Twilight firmly. “Starswirl isn't that important.”

Part 1: The Worst World Yet

Twilight barely reacted as she was flung from the spatial rift above the Cutie Map. Instinctively, her wings opened, catching her in mid-air, and her horn glowed, grabbing Spike before he landed on the crystal table. In a single smooth motion, the alicorn turned and landed on the map, letting out a sigh as she placed the young dragon on her back. A perfectly executed recovery maneuver that Rainbow Dash would have been proud of. She'd had plenty of practice by this point.

“Huh...it actually looks peaceful for once,” said Spike, rolling up the tattered scroll as he surveyed the surrounding area. “Should we leave before something crazy happens this time?”

The alicorn didn't answer immediately. Instead, she took a look around. Off in the distance, Canterlot Castle was clearly visible on the mountainside. Through a gap in the trees, she could make out the houses of Ponyville and it didn't seem like they were boarded up. The sun was in the sky, free of any blemishes or imprisoned ponies, and the air felt as clean and fresh as she was used to.

“Believe me, I'd love to, but we need to repair that scroll before it tears apart,” said Twilight finally. “And this is the first peaceful moment we've had since Sombra's tyrannical empire.”

“Chrysalis' tyrannical empire seemed pretty peaceful too,” grumbled Spike as he unrolled the scroll in question, careful not to let his claws damage the parchment any further. “Are you sure you can recreate this? I thought Starswirl's work was crazy complicated.”

Twilight sighed, gently taking the scroll from Spike and looking it over. “I've used this spell so many times now, I couldn't forget it if I tried. The problem is finding a moment to actually sit down and write it out. Not to mention how hard it is to find quills and paper when Equestria has been turned into scorched earth.”

The last part came out with far more frustration than she'd intended. The magic that was holding onto the paper seemed to tremble slightly as she carefully rolled it up and gave it back to Spike. “I'm sorry, I just...”

Spike took the scroll out of the air, his other hand moving to her neck and giving her a pat, telling her without words that she didn't need to say anything more. Seeing that wasteland had been difficult for him as well. “Why don't we just rest here for a bit?” he suggested. “Even if there is some new tyrant around in this timeline, things seem peaceful enough here.”

“That...might not be a bad idea, actually,” said Twilight, slumping down and stretching out on the table. The crystal didn't make for a comfortable resting place, but Twilight didn't much care at this point. Just so long as the sun was shining and there was a fresh breeze. “You think you could keep watch, Spike? I'm a bit more tired than I thought.”

“You got it,” said the young dragon, taking a seat and leaning up against her side. “Nothing will get by me. I'll roast anything that tries!”

“Like how you roasted those timberwolves?” said Twilight with a sly smile.

“Hey, those caught me off guard!”

“Mmhmm. Sure. Just wake me up if anything comes calling, okay?”

“Fine,” grumbled Spike, crossing his arms over his chest.

Minutes ticked by in silence as Twilight descended into an uneasy sleep, her head resting on her forehooves and her tail draped over her hind legs. In the sky, the sun continued its slow, steady path. From their place on the table at least, everything looked normal enough. Even the Everfree Forest was quiet.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last.

“Twilight, we've got company.”

The murmur in her ear was accompanied by an insistent tap of Spike's claws on her neck, gently rousing her from sleep. Jerking up, she looked around, seeing nothing until Spike directed her towards the sky where two pony silhouettes were passing overhead. No...that wasn't quite right. Her magic was telling her something different.

“The one on the left is a changeling. Looks like we're in another Chrysalis timeline after all,” she grumbled, shaking out her wings and slowly getting to her hooves. “Well, it wasn't long, but I think I've got more than enough energy to blast a couple changelings into dust.”

Spike looked up, squinting slightly as they figures became a bit more clear. “Are those Wonderbolt uniforms?”

Twilight paused, looking again. “That's...a changeling in a Wonderbolt uniform, yes,” she agreed, the glow in her horn fading slightly. Something was off about this situation. That was definitely a pony and a changeling flying together, both in uniform. “Maybe we should let this play out.”

Spike groaned. “And since when has that ended positively?”

“I'm waiting for a better suggestion then. We've got a damaged spell that can handle maybe three more trips at most, and considering the luck we've had with the last fifteen worlds-”

“Alright, alright, fine,” grumbled Spike, taking his spot on her back just in case they needed to flee.

In short order, the two landed. This close, Twilight's magic couldn't be fooled. One was definitely a changeling, but the other was most certainly a pegasus. Both were dressed in the Wonderbolt blue and gold colors, too. For a moment, no one spoke, the two seemingly surprised at her appearance.

It was Twilight who finally broke the silence. “Alright you two, I've had it up to here with bucked up worlds and twisted timelines. Compared to some of the stuff I've seen, Tartarus is looking like a prime vacation spot, so unless you want to get blasted all the way back to Canterlot, I suggest you buck off and leave me alone.”

Silence followed her statement. Even Spike seemed a little unnerved by her words and the ominously glowing horn that was giving off a display of power that made the dragon's scales tingle. The pegasus and the changeling shared a glance before the blue eyed changeling stepped forward. “P-please forgive my forwardness, but are you...Princess Twilight?”

The glow in Twilight's horn winked out and a look of surprise passed over her face. “Oh, right. Forgot to hide my wings,” she murmured, the spell she'd been using before now having faded thanks to the nap she'd taken.

“What? Are you serious?” asked the pegasus, looking almost as shocked as Twilight.

“I'm certain of it,” replied the changeling, looking directly at her. “My senses couldn't be fooled by something like this. And in case you didn't notice, she has wings and a horn.”

“Any changeling can give themselves wings and a horn if they really want them,” retorted the pegasus.

“Yes, but not the power of a princess. I've told you this before, you can't just-”

A tap on her neck drew Twilight's attention back to Spike. “You know, I think this is the first time someone in any of these worlds has recognized you.”

“That's not exactly a good thing,” muttered Twilight back before returning her attention to the arguing pair. “Excuse me, could you two shut up for a moment?”

The two Wonderbolts immediately stopped talking, both bowing their heads apologetically in her direction. Taking a breath, Twilight got her thoughts together before turning to the pegasus. “So...there's an explanation for this, but for right now, just pretend that I have amnesia and don't remember much of my life up to this point.”

The two shared a nervous look before the changeling spoke. “Well um...forgive me if I'm mistaken Twilight, but...you're supposed to be dead.”

“This is the worst timeline we've been to yet.”

“Really, Twilight?” groaned Spike from her back. “Even worse than the one Sombra was ruling over?”

“Yes. Worse than that,” she snapped.

“Well at least we haven't been attacked yet,” said Spike encouragingly. “And Ponyville looks pretty normal, too.”

“Don't care. Still hate it,” she grumbled, slowly following behind the two Wonderbolts leading her into town. “You. Pegasus. What's your name?”

“Skybright, Princess Sparkle,” came the immediate response, his nervousness almost tangible.

“Right. Skybright. Who is the current Princess of Equestria?”

“Er...Princess Celestia. Always has been for as long as I can remember,” he replied quickly.

“Her and Princess Luna,” corrected the changeling, equally nervous.

“And was Princess Luna freed from her persona of Nightmare Moon by the Elements of Harmony?” she pressed.

The two shared a glance before Skybright looked back over his shoulder. “Yes, of course. What kind of amnesia do you have, Princess?”

“I'm asking the questions here, Skybright,” snapped Twilight.

“My apologies, Princess,” said the pegasus meekly. “Princess Luna was freed from the moon after a thousand years of imprisonment, and then restored to health and sanity thanks to the Elements of Harmony and their bearers, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and yourself, of course.”

“Sounds good so far,” said Spike, just loud enough for her to hear.

“At least one thing went right in this timeline then,” said Twilight, the irritation fading slightly from her voice. “But that still doesn't explain you,” she snapped, her hoof pointing towards the changeling.

Hesitantly, the target of her ire turned and faced her, clearly intimidated by her sharp tone and the cascade of emotions she was giving off. “Wonderbolt Reserve Unit Fayne, Princess Sparkle.” A salute accompanied her title.

“And you're alright with her?” asked Twilight, turning towards the pegasus.

“O-of course! She came highly recommended from Princess Chrysalis herself.”

Twilight paused, replaying that sentence over in her mind several times, until finally something snapped. “What?!”

The changeling and the pony both cowered back from her sudden outburst, looking like they were about to flee. Behind her, Spike sighed. “I think you spooked them, Twi.”

Twilight ignored him. “Did you really just say Princess Chrysalis?” Furiously, the changeling nodded. “So...not Queen Chrysalis?” she pressed.

“N-no! She took on the title of princess after you helped her negotiate a treaty with Princess Celestia and Luna!”

“I...wait, really?” Her surprise died down, her expression becoming more thoughtful. “Huh...I never even considered that.” Realizing that the two Wonderbolts were still trembling in front of her, Twilight took a calming breath and addressed them. “Look, I'm sorry if I seem a little on edge. A particular spell of mine...backfired, and it had some unexpected consequences. You're familiar with Starswirl, yes?”

The Wonderbolts blinked before recognition dawned in their eyes. “Please forgive our ignorance, Princess Twilight. That would explain much of your confusion,” said Skybright.

With the tension relaxed, the three of them soon made their way into Ponyville. It was late in the afternoon so there weren't many ponies about, but the small procession drew stares nonetheless. By morning, everypony would know of her.

A light tug on her mane drew her attention back towards Spike. “Hey, Twilight, is that the old library?”

Twilight paused, her eyes following the dragon's claw towards the familiar looking treehouse that her eyes had passed over once before. “Excuse me,” she said to the two Wonderbolts, taking a sharp turn and making a beeline towards the building.

It was just how she remembered it. The smell of oak, the curated branches and careful growth...it was an exact match. Except for one thing. Right on the door in a gold plate was a plaque.

“It's dedicated to me,” she murmured, placing her hoof on the door, barely paying attention to the guards who had raced to catch up with her.

“Princess Twilight, please don't run off,” said Skybright, landing next to her. “It's important to keep-”

“I want to take a look inside,” said Twilight firmly.

“Er...well it's closed right now...”

Looking up to a particular branch, Twilight grabbed it with her magic and gave it a shake, a spare key suddenly coming loose from the leaves and falling into her waiting hoof. “Look, I'm not going to run, alright? If I didn't want to come with you...”

Twilight's horn glowed and her body disappeared in a flash of violet light before suddenly reappearing right in front of Skybright's face. “...I would have teleported away a long time ago. If somepony wants to see me, this is where I'll be.”

Even as she made her demands clear, Twilight couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the Wonderbolt. She knew she was being irritable and difficult, but it was hard to rein in those particular emotions after witnessing so many worlds filled with death and destruction and finding out about her own death in this one.

The Wonderbolt caved, nodding quickly as Twilight returned to the library, slipping the key into the lock and pushing the door open. The familiar smell of books washed over her as she magically lit the lights inside. The tomes were meticulously sorted just the way she liked them and all of the familiar furniture pieces were in their proper places.

“It almost feels like I never left,” said Twilight, feeling a calmness overtake her at the familiar sights and scents.

Spike hopped from her back to do his own inspection, looking over things with a critical eye. “Whoever is maintaining the place cleans up pretty well too,” he added.

Automatically, Twilight's hooves took her through the library. The kitchen, her reading corner, her bedroom...everything was there, perfectly preserved, almost as if...

“This is a memorial,” said the alicorn finally, meeting back with Spike on the ground floor. “I mean...it's supposed to be one, but it still feels like home to me.”

“You know that this isn't really our home,” said Spike softly, his voice weak. “I know you don't like the castle all that much, but I kinda like having my own room.”

“I actually preferred it when I could visit with the ponies of Ponyville. Being in charge of the library was a great excuse to connect with them. But in the meantime, this is probably the best place to work on the new spell. Just so long as there aren't any evil dictators around.”

“Twilight Sparkle!”

The dulcet tone was immediately recognizable. “Chrysalis,” said Spike and Twilight in perfect synch.

“Do you think you can take her?” asked Spike worriedly.

“I'm in the mood to try,” growled Twilight, throwing open the library door with a bang, startling Fayne who had been standing guard.

Up above, wings buzzing rapidly, was Chrysalis, slowly descending, her eyes narrowed and her fangs visible, two changelings flanking her on either side. Beside her, Fayne fell to a kneeling position. “Princess Chrysalis, I wasn't aware you were coming.”

“I had to see for myself whether or not all the talk was true. If one of my changelings has been playing a joke in ill taste, I will be most...displeased.”

Twilight met her look with a level stare of her own, her magic simmering behind her eyes and ready to snap to the surface. Even though her presence didn't seem to be causing a panic in Ponyville, she'd clashed with her far too many times in various timelines to let her guard down so easily.

That tension quickly turned to confusion though, as Chrysalis stepped forward and then to the side, walking a slow circle around the purple alicorn as Twilight moved her head to keep her in view. “Um...”

“It's really her,” said Chrysalis finally, the tension seeping away, but before Twilight could even begin to relax, the changeling princess turned and wrapped a hoof around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug. “And you have some explaining to do, princess.”

Twilight barely had time to squeak in surprise at the embrace before another familiar voice filled the air. “I knew it! I told you it was her! The sense never lies!” Barely managing to wiggle free of the changeling embrace, Twilight found herself practically tackle-hugged by a pink blur.

“Pinkie?” she gasped out, slightly breathless as a pair of powerful forehooves squeezed around her barrel.

“You betcha! And you're Twilight! Well, not completely Twilight, but like ninety-nine point eight percent Twilight!”

“Wait, what?”

Before another word could drop from her mouth, a sudden boom shook the town and a wave of rainbow colors washed over the sky. Transfixed at the sight, Twilight could only think, 'She managed to do it this time!' before the cyan colored mare became visible, streaking through the sky towards the small group at supersonic speeds. For a moment, Twilight was certain she was going to crash into them, but at the last moment, Rainbow twisted in mid flight, spreading her wings and killing her momentum right before landing on the ground in front of them, a wave of air following behind her with enough force to dislodge several leaves from the library tree.

“Egghead! It really is you!”

Pinkie yelped as she was suddenly pushed to the side to make way for Rainbow, the alicorn squeaking as she found the pegasus' hug to be just as tight as the earth pony's hug. “Wait...hold on. If it really is you, then tell me that story I told you about flight camp.”

Twilight hesitated. “You mean the one where you and Fluttershy showed up to a party only to find out they were really holding an o-”

“Egghead! It really is you!” Twilight squeaked as her voice was cut off with a powerful hug.

The crowd was starting to increase in size. From the corner of her eye, she could see Applejack approaching, a trail of dust in her wake with Fluttershy following behind, and off in the distance she could see Rarity emerging from her shop. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by the positive feelings, especially after seeing so many worlds where her friend's lives had been ruined.

“Spike! You're back too!” came Fluttershy's voice from behind her. “A-and you're back to your younger self!” The young dragon who had been overlooked in the chaos yelped in surprise as the pink maned pegasus suddenly hugged him tight.

Questions flew at her from all sides, her friends practically jumping over each other to fulfill their curiosity. The residents of Ponyville were starting to get attracted to the commotion as well, peeking out of their houses and gathering in a small crowd some distance off. Finally, the princess lit her horn, a small bubble forming around her body first and gently pushing outward, gently dislodging her friends until she was standing in the middle of a circle, panting slightly.

“Girls, if we can calm down for a minute I really need to know something.” The chattering stopped and slowly the shield faded. Taking a breath, Twilight asked the question she'd been dreading the answer to. “Why am I supposed to be dead?”

The scene was a wasteland. Trees had been burnt to the ground, half of the Everfree Forest was still smoldering, and a couple buildings on the edge of Ponyville had been leveled. All things considered, it was a small miracle she'd been able to keep the fighting away from town given the sheer scale of destruction.

“It seems we are at a stalemate.”

Tirek's voice made the air rumble as red arcs of magic danced along his body. There was no telling how many ponies he'd managed to drain at this point, but it was enough to put the power of four alicorns in check...at least for now. He was wasteful, unskilled, and had little to no control over his energy. Tirek was treating this fight like a sprint, when really, it was going to be a marathon. All she had to do was keep him distracted, keep him on the defensive...

“So how about I propose a trade.”

...and keep him from playing his trump card. Twilight's breath caught in her throat as her friends and Discord appeared, trapped in magical prisons. “Your friends for your magic.”

Twilight wanted to curse herself. She'd hoped Tirek would have been too involved with the fight to think of taking hostages, too overconfident in his power to stoop to such tactics, but it had been wistful thinking. Her head fell, her bangs falling over her eyes as she considered her options. Would he keep his word? Would it matter? What would become of Equestria if he held all of its magic? Would he ever stop?

No...he wouldn't. He was nothing more than a power hungry tyrant who would never be satisfied, and without its magic, Equestria would wither and die, even if all her friends were safe. If she sacrificed them, he'd just take more ponies hostage. Maybe even a city or two. There was only one real choice.

“Fine, I accept.” Her head raised and her eyes narrowed, unwavering as he laughed, lowering her friends to the ground as his own magic drew her up into the air. “Discord too,” she demanded.

With a snort, he snapped his fingers, freeing the Draconequus from his prison as his own magic began to tug at hers, her body trembling as it instinctively fought against the pull. His mouth opened and the sucking feeling intensified, her aura springing to life as it slowly began to get drawn away.

“Choke on it!” The sun dimmed. On the other side of the Equestria, the moon went dark. All the way in the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Heart dimmed...and in front of Tirek, the small alicorn glowed like a miniature sun.

The pain was excruciating. It had taken her several hours to manage the power of three alicorns when it was first given to her. Simple things like walking had almost been impossible, and her body had been in constant agony as she'd tried to get a handle on all the conflicting magic. Now though, she let that control loose, white fire racing through her veins as she concentrated every ounce of magic in her body and directed it right towards the centaur's open mouth. His eagerness to drain her had left him vulnerable, and now he was going to pay for it.

Tirek's cries of pain filled the air as pure white hot magic raced through his body, overloading him with the energy he desired even as it burned him from the inside. He couldn't control it, not so much at once, and Twilight had plenty more to give, putting everything she had into the transference. At some point, his magical hold faltered, but Twilight didn't stop, force-feeding him more and more until his body gave out. His screams cut off abruptly and his magical hold failed, the alicorn dropping to the ground hard, though her numb body barely felt the impact.

And then there was silence. Her vision was gone, but she could feel the magic break free, spreading back through Equestria, seeking out the ponies who were robbed. Part of her was glad she couldn't see what was left of Tirek, as he was likely little more than a liquified puddle.

“Twilight!”

Her friends...they were safe. It had worked. She tried to tilt her head in the direction of the sound, but her body wasn't responding. She could feel them though, sense each of their magics that had returned to them, even as her own continued to slip away.

“Twilight...oh no...y-you're...”

“Glad...I can't...see myself...right now...” she gasped out, her tongue feeling heavy in her mouth. “I know...I look bad...”

“Just stay with us Twilight, we'll get Celestia! She can help!” Fluttershy's voice was quivering as she spoke, but filled with determination. “Rainbow-”

“No...it's...too late...nopony...meant to take this much magic...not even an alicorn...”

“Dammit, Egghead, don't you dare talk like that! Just...just hang on, dammit!”

“Please...just...stay here...a little while...”

Hooves pressed against her from all sides. She could barely feel them against her body. One by one her senses began to fade, her body going limp and her sightless eyes closing. Her friends shouts and cries became little more than muted background sounds as their magic tried to pull her back. Even Discord's magic was trying to reach out to her...but eventually her magical sense faded as well, a calm feeling of peace overtaking her as the last bits of life slipped from her body.

Twilight slowly put down the cup that was shaking in her hooves. She'd put most of the pieces together already, but hearing the full story of her death was more unnerving than she'd been prepared for. Everypony else in the library seemed at a loss for words once Rainbow finished the tale.

“Magical overload,” said Twilight finally. “When I had the power of four alicorns inside me, it took a huge amount of effort to stop myself from exploding. Letting all that energy out at once...there probably wasn't even a body left...”

“You mean...you remember that?” asked Applejack. “I thought you said-”

“I'm sorry, I haven't been entirely honest,” replied Twilight quickly. “You see, I don't exactly have amnesia. The truth is, I'm from an entirely different world from everypony here.”

Silence filled the library, the grim atmosphere turning to one of confusion instead. “Come again?”

“You're all familiar with Starswirl, yes?”

There was a collective groan from everyone, including Chrysalis.

“Dear, I thought you had that library sealed up and the contents collected into a vault after the first time-travel incident,” said Rarity earnestly.

“Believe me, I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it right now,” grumbled Twilight, gently taking the scroll from Spike's claws once more and unrolling it. “But the long and short of it is, thanks to this spell and a...troublesome mare, I've been hopping through one timeline after another...although this one is the first I've seen where everything seems...okay.”

“Um, except you died!” protested Rainbow Dash. “I'd call that a pretty big negative!”

Rarity approached, taking a closer look at the spell. “This thing is practically in tatters.”

“I know. I was hoping to get some time to repair it while I was here.”

A light knock interrupted her. Almost instinctively, Twilight's horn glowed and opened the door. “Come on...”

Her voice trailed off. Standing in the doorway, dressed in a red regal cape was King Sombra. Instinct kicked in far before her mind did, passing over small details, such as the lack of red in his eyes, the silver band that had replaced his usual steel crown, the gold trim on his shoes rather than the solid steel ones, and the complete lack of dark energy around him.

By then though, it was too late to stop the powerful magical blast from leaving her horn, striking the surprised king and sending him flying out through the doorway, taking a good chunk of the door with him.

“Twilight!”

The alicorn's horn winked out as the panicked shouts of her friends rang out behind her. Sheepishly, she looked around to see their shocked expressions. “You're about to tell me that Sombra is a good pony in this world, aren't you?”

“Little bit, yeah,” said Rainbow, a hoof over her muzzle holding back a snicker.

Nearly knocking over her chair, Twilight ran out the ruined door and over to Sombra's side where the dark maned pony was groaning and getting back up on his hooves. “I'm really sorry about that, I'm still operating with a certain set of memories and we're not exactly on the best of terms in those memories!”

With a bit of effort, the king slowly managed to stand up, wobbling only slightly before turning to his assailant. “Thank you, Twilight, I apologize for startling you. I really should have listened to Chrysalis' warnings.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. While she hadn't used enough energy to be lethal, she'd definitely pushed quite a bit into that one attack after seeing who it was, and Sombra hadn't even put up a shield.

The alicorn blinked as her eyes moved to his forehead and suddenly found the reason for his lack of defense. “You...don't have a horn,” she said dumbly.

“Yes, that was a small side-effect of being brought back from the void and cut off from all of the dark magics that consumed me,” said Sombra, rubbing the spot on his forehead with a hoof. “My own magic had to be severed, though I consider it a fair trade for being able to walk and talk again.”

Questions exploded into Twilight's mind. Did alternate Twilight actually figure out a way to save Sombra? Was there magic here that didn't exist back home that helped? Or...had she simply not looked hard enough?

Before she had a chance to even ask a simple 'how', a bright light filled the sky, shining briefly like the sun, even though the sun itself was hanging low in the sky. While Sombra shielded his eyes, Twilight immediately looked up despite the brief pain. When the light cleared, Celestia was slowly descending towards the ground, looking just as unblemished and calm as she did in her home world.

“Princess!” called Twilight excitedly, rushing towards her, only to remember herself at the last moment and compose herself. This wasn't her Celestia. No matter how good it was to see the sun princess as the ruler of Equestria again, she didn't know what sort of relationship they had, or if they even-eep!

Her thoughts were derailed quite suddenly as Celestia took a step forward and enveloped the smaller alicorn in her wings and hooves, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Twilight...it is wonderful to see you again.”

Twilight couldn't help herself. Even knowing this wasn't her home-world Celestia, she embraced her tightly, letting out a sigh as a string of tension that had been winding its way through her body for the past two-dozen timelines slowly went slack. “I've missed you, princess,” murmured Twilight quietly. In almost every timeline, Celestia had been the first to be displaced, and most times it hadn't been as neat or clean as being banished to the moon.

And yet, it still felt wrong. She wasn't this Celestia's Twilight. She was just-

“It's okay Twilight,” murmured Celestia, slowly sliding her wings away. “I've been briefed on the situation by Chrysalis' changelings. I'd like to think you're still my little pony no matter which world you’re from..”

Nodding happily, Twilight wiped a foreleg across her moist eyes and composed herself. “You have no idea how good it is to see you again.”

“Almost as good as seeing my most faithful student and fellow princess alive again after a year of mourning?” said Celestia with a small smile.

Twilight chuckled. “I suppose I can give you that one. All I need now is for Starlight Glimmer to teleport here and claim she's my new best friend.”

“I don't believe I'm familiar with that pony,” said Celestia.

“Probably for the best considering how this turned out,” Twilight grumbled. “Hey um...before I go blasting anyone else, do you think you can let me in on who and who isn't a good pony in this universe?”

Celestia smiled, her horn glowing as she effortlessly repaired the doorway and put the shattered door back together seamlessly. “Why not tell me what trials you have overcome in your world and I shall endeavor to fill in the differences?”

“I would really appreciate that.”

The sight of Sombra, Chrysalis, and Celestia sitting in the library, reflecting on her story was a surreal sight that beat any other world she'd been to. Questions had been plentiful for the first several minutes, but after a while Celestia had put a stop to them, realizing that the tale was never going to finish otherwise.

Aside from a brief break to let Celestia lower the sun so her sister could take charge of the night, there were no more interruptions.

“So you're telling me, that in your world, my Sonic Rainboom was awesome enough to bring us all together?” asked Rainbow excitedly.

“Ho boy, we're never gonna hear the end of it now,” grumbled Applejack.

“Yes, and you deserve every bit of praise you get for it,” said Twilight. “Although it makes me wonder, how did we all meet in this timeline if not for Rainbow?”

Rainbow shrugged her wings. “I got an internship with the Everfree Weather Patrol because it was the most exciting, and every Wonderbolt is required to do at least a year of weather work. During a particularly nasty hurricane, I performed a Rainboom that dispersed it.”

“When I got frustrated by where my magic had led me, I had just given up and pushed the boulder down the hill, but I had the good sense to look where it had fallen. At the bottom, the rock had cracked open, and it wasn't long after that I discovered my talent,” explained Rarity.

“W-well, after I fell off of Cloudsdale, I decided that I really didn't like flying. Even though it seemed like the animals rejected me at first, I worked with them, cared for them, and then one day I managed to calm down an angry, injured bear, and once I'd treated him, I got my cutie mark.”

“That would be...Mr. Bear?” asked Twilight curiously.

“That's him!” exclaimed Fluttershy with an excited nod. “Did my other self...”

“Almost word for word...except she got her cutie mark a little earlier.”

Applejack adjusted her hat. “Well, can't say I've got a particularly excitin' story. I spent a few months in Manehatten and then I got a care package from back home. Apple cider, apple pie, fresh apples...it was while I was eating them that I realized just how much I missed home. Got on a train the next day and got my cutie mark.”

“And you, Pinkie?” I asked finally.

“Well, when my sister's birthday came around, I decided that I wanted to do something really special. Mom and dad had missed her last birthday so I wanted to make it up to her. I did some research, really got into it, and it was a huge hit! Gave me my cutie mark and everything!”

“And so everypony ended up in Ponyville and averted disaster,” Twilight finished. “Even though we found our talents at different times and through different circumstances, events still played out really close to my timeline. Arguably better,” she added, giving Chrysalis and Sombra a meaningful glance.

“Oh, and just so we're clear, I don't buy for a second that you're not our Twilight,” said Rainbow suddenly.

“What? But I-”

“Lemme ask you this. When you first got your wings, did you list slightly to the left when you flew? It took me three straight weeks to break you of that habit.”

“W-well yes, that still happened but-”

“And,” continued Rainbow unabated. “It took you a full week before you stopped flailing your legs in the air, as if trying to run.”

Twilight blushed slightly. “You said it made me look like a grown filly trying to fly for the first time.”

“Exactly! Fluttershy, what about you? You know what Twilight's favorite food is, right?”

“Steamed lilacs and parsnip garnish,” came the pegasus' immediate reply.

“That's...right,” said Twilight, slightly surprised.

“And your favorite book is 'A Compiled Lexicon of Spells and Their Practical Applications',” chimed in Rarity.

“And you're absolutely terrified of quesadillas!” concluded Pinkie Pie.

Celestia seemed slightly taken aback at that, giving Twilight a curious look. “You never told me the incident was quite that bad,” she accused. “I had always wondered what you were fixing that caused such a catastrophe, but you were too embarrassed to say.”

Twilight blushed, avoiding Celestia's gaze. “W-well I suppose we might not be all that different,” she finally admitted. Grimly, she turned towards Chrysalis and Sombra. “I didn't manage to rescue you,” she told Sombra, “And I never even thought about trying to make peace with you,” she told Chrysalis.

“Hmph. I can hardly hold that against you,” said Chrysalis with a scoff. “I am not the most easy changeling to work with, and we were both quite bitter after our second confrontation.”

“And as I understand it, you spent almost two years researching what had happened with the Crystal Empire before you were able to make any headway with my...unique case,” added Sombra. “I couldn't have hoped anypony would do anything for me before that, so it's not as though you were letting me down.”

Twilight sighed. Their words were comforting, but it was still hard not to feel inadequate compared to her other self. “Well...maybe when I get back, I can work on changing that,” she said finally.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

“You're...going back?” asked Fluttershy meekly.

“...yes?” said Twilight, uncertainty in her voice.

“Why?” asked Rainbow pointedly. “You just made it back! You're here now!”

A glance around the table showed that almost everypony was thinking the same thing, even if Rainbow Dash was the only one to outright say it. “But...this isn't my world! I don't belong here!”

“Horseapples, Twi,” cut in Applejack. “You just said everything played out darn near the same here, and when I look at you, I see my good friend Twilight who helped organize Winter Wrap-Up and helped out on the farm when Big Mac got injured.”

“And you're still the same Twilight that helped me study for the Wonderbolt's test,” added Rainbow.

More voices soon joined them, each one throwing out bits and pieces from Twilight's life and the times she helped them. She remembered all of them. Just as she was starting to feel overwhelmed though, Celestia held up her hoof and the talking died down immediately.

“Twilight, I realize you've had a trying time. You have that look that you often get before a big test. Even if you truly wish to return to your own world, there is no need to rush, yes?”

Twilight hesitated. Technically speaking, her battle with Starlight Glimmer was a 'fixed-point' in time, and the scroll would take her back there no matter how long she actually spent here. “No...I suppose not.”

“Then please, stay here a while and rest. Your room is still the same as we left it a year ago, and you're welcome to use the library while you work on fixing the spell scroll.”

That did sound like a good idea. The nap had been nice, but she was still tired. What point was there in going back while she was half-dead if she could get a good night's sleep and approach her fight with Starlight at a hundred percent?

“I...yeah, I think I'll do that,” said Twilight finally.

Celestia smiled and turned to her friends. “Then we shall leave you be for the evening.”

“But-”

“Twilight is not going anywhere for the next day at least,” said Celestia, cutting off Twilight's friends before they could protest. “You will have plenty of time to reconnect with her then.”

There was a bit more grumbling, but eventually everypony cleared out. Celestia, however, paused at the doorway. “Twilight, do you recall a certain time-traveling incident where you traveled a week into the past via one of Starswirl's spells?”

The smaller alicorn nodded. It was the first thing she'd thought of. “I did a bit of research into Starswirl's work after that...incident.”

“As did the Twilight of this world. I did not wish to go into detail in front of your friends, but do you recall what Starswirl had written about the timeline?” asked Celestia gently.

“He...he said that there was only one...that all time travel would result in a closed loop...but he was proven wrong,” insisted Twilight. “I'm living proof of that!”

“Are you? Or has your presence here merely replaced your timeline with this one?” The way Celestia asked the question made it clear she didn't know the answer herself.

“The crystal map from my castle is still here,” replied Twilight confidently. “The universe knows there's something wrong, that's why it’s always there when I land.”

“Is it 'wrong' or is it simply being pulled through as part of the spell you're using? You did say it was the catalyst, after all.”

Twilight hesitated. “I...don't know,” she said finally. “But I know what you're trying to say.” Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to get the words out.

“Um...what is it?” asked Spike cautiously when neither one of the ponies volunteered the information.

Before Twilight could respond, Celestia moved, drawing a wing around her side. “Twilight, do not misunderstand me. My intention is not to guilt you. I will stand by and support whatever decision you make. You've always been my faithful student, have you not?”

Spike's eyes widened as he heard a sniff from behind Celestia's wing. “Twilight?”

“All I ask is that you give yourself time to rest and think things over. Be sure of your decision before you make it.”

Twilight swallowed, sniffing again, slowly slipping out of the hug. “Thank you Princess, I will.”

Playfully, Celestia's wing came out and flicked her muzzle. “And stop calling me Princess. We are peers, remember? Then again, I never did break that habit of yours in this world either.”

Just as the white alicorn was about to leave, Spike spoke up one last time. “Princess, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to me in this timeline?”

Celestia sighed. “When the Twilight of this world passed on, you disappeared into the dragon lands. No one has seen you for the past year, and the last message I received was six months ago.”

The alicorn walked out into the evening air and spread her wings. “I shall remain in Ponyville for the next two days, though if you need to speak to me at any time, my dragon-fire address hasn't changed.”

“Twilight, what was she talking about?” asked Spike, watching as the alicorn paced around her room, her horn glowing, the violet sparkle of her magic appearing around various pieces of furniture as she moved them around the room.

“Multiverse theory versus closed-loop theory,” said Twilight shortly.

Spike waited for her to continue, but she didn't. That was a rather alarming sign, when Twilight didn't want to talk about something magic-related. “And that is?” he asked finally.

Twilight sighed, her magic enveloping her writing desk and pulling it into the air. “Starswirl theorized that if any time travel was possible, it would happen one of two ways. Either you'd travel to a different universe entirely, or all the time travel that will happen has already happened, thereby creating a closed loop, which is what happened to me the one time I tried it.”

“And...Starlight screwed that up?”

“I don't know,” growled Twilight, practically turning her desk upside down as she shook it. “If the single-timeline theory is correct, then going back could mean...”

“Wiping this timeline out,” finished Spike, his eyes widening at the implications.

“I don't know which is worse,” said Twilight with a sigh. “The thought that I'd have to choose between these two timelines, or the thought that all those other worlds we went to are ruled by the villains we failed to defeat.”

Spike shuddered, looking down at the scroll in his hand. Neither thought was very comfortable. Clutching the worn paper just a bit tighter, Spike watched as Twilight continued to tear through her room. “Er...what are you looking for?”

“Not looking for,” corrected Twilight. “Found.” The wall behind her bed suddenly fractured and cracked. In the next moment, a large book emerged, held in Twilight's magical grip.

“How did you know that was there?” asked Spike.

“Because I had one as well, before my library blew up. This is my other self's diary.”