Something Different

Staring out into this strange, new town she called home, she could feel her heart racing. Taking a few deep breaths, she let herself have some time to calm down. "Deep breaths, Twilight. No need to panic. Again." Today was supposed to be the day she  headed to Canterlot to meet with her older friends before spending some time with Cadence. Her schedule thrown out of whack, Twilight Sparkle ran back inside her tree castle to find her monthly planner.

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Sept 2, Tuesday. 07:29 am.

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Running inside, she briefly thought about just crawling back into bed and letting this sort itself out. 'No,' she thought. I'm not going to surrender to this. ' Allowing herself some time to go over her plans for today, she walked to her room and took out her monthly planner. Flipping through the pages, she found today's date. Today was a free day apparently,  as all that was written was, 'Monthly Allocated Rest Day.'

Perfect, she thought. Time to head out. She closed the book, put it back on the shelf and walked out.

Sept 2, Tuesday. 07:55 am.

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Stepping back outside, she was again greeted by the same sight from before. She thought about how to find her friends first. "Wait, which one do I visit first? Let me see. There's Apple Jack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity..." Twilight slowly thought out her options. Going over her mental list, Twilight decided Rarity was going to be her first choice. "Right, now how to get there. This version Ponyville is going to be different, so how should I- oh. Well, no other choice, I guess." Flying had never been Twilight's strong area. Oh, she had improved, but her landings left something to be desired. Preparing herself for flight, she took off.

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Sept 2, Tuesday. 08:11 am.

Only up here could Twilight truly see just how Ponyville had changed. The streets looked to be endless, though she knew this was most likely not the case. Every street was as identical as the first. Wishing she had paid attention to her new address, Twilight lowered herself to the ground, stumbling on the paved roads. Looking around, the houses here were slightly different than the houses on her street. Every house had an elevated front porch, and further investigation revealed she was now standing at Street 193. Just as confused as before, Twilight picked one random house and knocked on the door, hoping to get directions.

--

The door opened. A light blue pegasus mare with a dark blue mane was standing there. She asked, "Yes? What do you want?"

Twilight responded by telling her she was lost and if she wouldn't mind, give her directions. 16 minutes and 3 confused looks later, she got the address for all her friends. Thanking her, Twilight took off in search of Rarity.

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Sept 2, Tuesday. 08:28 pm.

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Flying over Ponyville again, she quickly found and located Rarity's house. Bracing herself for a rough landing, Twilight lowered her altitude. Looking around,  she was glad that everything about her friend's house seemed normal. Same Carousel Boutique. "14792 Ave. So Rarity, this is where you live, huh?" Mumbling to herself, Twilight knocked on the door and waited.

Rarity opened the door, looking like she didn't sleep in a week, though knowing her, Twilight thought that could be the case. Rarity asked, "Oh hello, Twilight! What can I do for you?"

"Hey Rarity. I was just walking by and decided to visit." Twilight lied, not wanting to share her experience with anypony, at least not yet. "Listen, can you meet me at the restaurant near the-" Hesitating through her words, Twilight suddenly remembered that the restaurant she loved to eat at might not exist here. She decided to just meet at her place. "Nevermind. Can you just meet me at my house after 2pm?"

"I don't know, Twilight. What for?  Sweetie Belle and her younger sister are staying the week. I have to get them settled here first. Can I come over after, let's say 2:30?

"Wait. What sister? I thought Sweetie Belle was an only child." Twilight asked, not sure if ahe heard Rarity correctly.

"Why, her younger sister Harmony Note will be staying the week. It's the school holiday this week, so naturally, coming here was their first choice. Don't you remember?" Rarity asked.

"Uh, sure, I remember, Rarity. I gotta go." Twilight thought about which friend she wanted to vist next. Turning around, she was about to walk across the street when Rarity pulled her back. Just as she was about to ask what was she doing, somepony driving one of those vehicles rushed by, honking and screaming

"Watch the road!"

'Sheesh, rude much?' Twilight thought. "Hey Rarity? What was that for?" She turned to ask her.

"Well Twilight, you really need to watch the road. Do you not know this? You need to be more careful." Rarity asked her, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Sure I do! Anyways, I gotta go. See ya!" Twilight waved goodbye to her friend and took off again.

--

Sept 2, Tuesday. 08:37 am.

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Scanning the ground, she found Fluttershy's house. Landing on the road her house, there were clear discrepancies between this house and the last time Twilight visited her. She looked around and saw a sign stating this was '222172 Forest Bvld'. She decided to just inspect the place, and not be noticed by Fluttershy. Her house had a flat roof, though still covered in vegetation, that was the obvious. A large building stood next to the main house, it's purpose unclear. She walked over to one of the windows, and saw various animals housed quite comfortably in there. In fact, maybe a little too comfortable. Walking around, she peeked in one of the windows. Fluttershy was there, feeding various birds perched everywhere. The cozy, random arrangement of the tiny little birdhouses were now neat rows of 5, spanning a few levels, like a bird apartment. 'Okay, so far so good,' she thought. Satisfied everything was fine, she took off again.

--

She was in the air again. The cool breeze around her did help to calm her down, and after two friends who were alnost as she remembers them, she was even calmer. Scanning the horizon, she found her next friend and landed. Sugarcube Corner was...off. Like Pinkie Pie the one time she drank all the coffee Mr. Cake hid behind the shelf off. The design of the confectionery building hadn't changed, but instead, the building had changed shape. The basic layout, she had remembered, was something like the letter 'l', in lowercase form. This one was uppercase 'L' shaped, but other than that, she was good. She also noticed a rather large vehicle resting near another door, a much larger one labeled, 'DELIVERIES'. Choosing to question it later, she had things to do here.

Pinkie Pie had spotted her. Waving cheerfully like she always does, it was hard not to miss her. Walking over, Pinkie greeted her. "Hey, Twilight! What's happening?"

"Oh hey Pinkie. What's new? Listen, can you meet me at my castle at 2:30?"

"Oh, of course I can! Hey, do you wanna try out our new breakfast menu? We're serving until 11! Eat Fresh!" Pinkie said, then whispered in her ear, "Don't tell Subway!"

The last bit got her attention. She could somehow hear the capitalisation of the last few words. "Wait, don't tell who?" Twilight questioned.

"Don't tell who what?" Pinkie replied. "You look a little down today. Did you eat breakfast?"

"Now that you mention it, I don't remember eating. What do you have?" Twilight asked her, her stomach feeling quite empty just at the mere possibility of food. Especially since she hadn't eaten yet. Walking in, she noticed that the cozy, small town feel of Sugarcube Corner was replaced by a comfortable atmosphere, similar to that feeling she got whenever she walked into a massive library, the tall shelves stacked with hundreds if not thousands of books, despite the fact that almost nothing had changed about the interior design. She decided now was a good time to ask about the 'DELIVERIES' door and the larger vehicle. "Hey Pinkie, what's with the delivery exit and the vehicle?"

"Oh silly Twilight, you mean the delivery van we have parked out front? That's the Boxville we got last month to help with the deliveries in the further corners of Ponyville. I would normally make the deliveries, but after last week's accident, I doubt I'll be getting behind the wheel again." Pinkie explained.

Satisfied with the explanation, she asked Pinkie what was on the menu. Having heard the list, she made her order.

Sept 2, Tuesday. 09:57 am.

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Oh man, she shouldn't have had that last plate of pancakes. How did Pinkie talk me into buying this much food?