“Twilight!” Cadence said as she opened the door. “And…Twilight?”
I fidgeted, pushing my glasses up, a nervous habit of mine. I’d never managed to pin down when I acquired it and it was now just a part of me.
“Yeah,” I said. “We wanted to check out some of the astrological differences between this world and Equestria.” I gave her my sweetest smile. “The view is so much better from here in the suburbs than the city proper.”
Cadence eyed the other Twilight. I felt odd standing next to her, the only difference being my wearing glasses and some clothes that Rarity had donated when I had told her that I wanted to dress a little more relaxed. I wondered for a moment if this is what twins felt like.
I adjusted my glasses again, the weight of the new, smaller frames still new to me. Cadence stepped aside and we both stepped within.
“Two conditions,” she said in a serious voice I recognized from our time at Crystal Prep when she had been Dean of Students, not Principal.
“Ok,” Twilight said. “Whatever you want.”
She looked at us both, then smiled. “Sunshine, Sunshine,” she said, covering her eyes.
“Ladybug’s Awake,” Twilight said, covering and then revealing her eyes.
“Clap your hands,” I said.
“And do a little shake!” we finished, all three giggling.
“So strange that so much is the same across the mirror,” Twilight said.
“It’s probably a radial approximation, decreasing as distance increases,” I said. “Close proximity would result in the largest similarities.”
“There are small differences between you that anyone familiar to you can tell,” Cadence said. “My Twilight has slightly darker hair, the highlights are subtly off. You’re a little taller, and you both stand differently.”
I traded looks with the princess, noticing these changes now that they were pointed out. I recognized the look in her eye as one I’ve seen in a computer monitor more than once. It was the look of new knowledge about to be gained.
Cadence cleared her throat. “There’s one more condition,” she said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
She grinned, taking us each under an arm and pulling us to the kitchen.
“Girl’s night!” she exclaimed. “And you can start by telling me about your Cadence, Princess.”
It’s so hard to keep secrets from that woman.
“She didn’t!” Twilight said as my face threatened to burst into flame.
Cadence nodded, smiling as she lowered her wine glass back to the table. “My hand to God,” she said. “She swarmed up that tree like she was born in one just to get a look at the squirrel’s nest. When the branch she was standing on broke, I thought I was going to die.” She took another sip. “Then when I realized she was ok but for a broken arm, I thought her parents would kill me.”
“They wouldn’t have done that,” I said, hiding behind my own glass of wine. Cadence had always treated me like an equal when she could, and since the Princess was above the Equestrian age of majority, we all three were sharing a light chardonnay and a surprising dish of apples, caramel, and chocolate that Cadence had dubbed ‘Apple Nachos’.
“No, but I didn’t know that at sixteen,” my babysitter said. “And considering what you had done, I wasn’t thinking straight in the first place.”
I took a sip and looked at the Princess, feeling much more at ease as we swapped stories. She had already shared how her Cadence had become the princess of the Crystal Empire - which brought about some giggles from me and my Cadence - and the Changeling invasion during her wedding.
“So, Twilight,” I said. “What exactly do we need to search for tonight?”
The Princess of Friendship drained the last sip from her glass and cleared her throat. “I mainly want to examine the relative positions of recognizable constellations and track their path through the night relative to the moon’s path.” She worried her bottom lip for a moment. “I’m puzzled by the fact that your moon’s phases are different from ours.”
“I can explain those if you want,” I said, taking the three wine glasses and lifting them with my magic, recreating the earth and moon’s orbits in slow motion. “Our moon is illuminated by light from the sun, and due to its orbital cycle, at various times the earth blocks parts of the light coming in so it appears to be different shapes.” I adjusted my glasses and continued.
“That, of course,” I stated in a giddy voice. “Doesn’t include lunar or solar eclipses, but they are rare, if predictable occurrences.” I stalled the wine glass diorama. “The phases are dictated by where the sun, earth, and moon are in relation to each other. New, waxing crescent, First quarter, Waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent, and back to new.” As I spoke I rotated the “moon” around the ‘earth’.
Twilight’s eyes lit up. “That might be part of why the time is different on each side!” she exclaimed, grabbing a piece of paper from the stack we had set out earlier next to my disassembled telescope. “In Equestria, we only have four phases, New, Full, Crescent, and Half. How long is the lunar month here?”
“Roughly twenty-eight days,” Cadence supplied.
“Equestrian lunar months are only 18 days,” Twilight said, scribbling with a pencil. “The difference in timelines mean that the portals can’t line up perfectly, only when both sides are on the same point on the same plane.”
I recognized the shape she was sketching, it was a pair of intersecting planes, meshing like the teeth of two gears. I realized where she was going with a flash and grabbed the case to my telescope.
“And we can determine the intersection by following stellar paths!” I cried, heading towards the back door of the house, my counterpart following closely behind.
I stopped when Cadence cleared her throat.
“Twily,” she asked. “You mind letting go of the wine glasses so they can get cleaned, please?”
Sheepishly, I relaxed my hold on the glasses and let them touch down on the table.
“Sorry,” I said. “Heat of the moment.”
She waved her hands at us in a shooing motion. “Get going, you two,” she said laughing. “You haven’t got all night.”
“That was amazing!” I said, setting the telescope off to the side of the door. “That unexpected meteor shower was beautiful!”
“There was that one that split half-way through its flight,” Twilight said. “Did you see it?”
I grinned. “Yes! And I think I got it on camera,” I said, holding up the thumb drive that contained the photos we snapped through the telescope’s integrated camera.
The Princess dropped the twenty pages of notes, sketches, and calculations we had done over the course of the night on the coffee table in Sunset’s - no, our - apartment. That thought still had me glowing when it crossed my mind’s eye.
“Sunshine,” Twilight said, still used to using my nickname. “This is enough data to keep me occupied for a moon cross-referencing with Equestrian celestial charts!” She yawned, then continued. “I’m certain this has to do with the time dilation effect the portal has in its natural cycle.”
I copied the yawn and saw the bag I had set inside earlier in the day. I grabbed it and pulled out one set of sleepwear and handed it to the princess.
“It’s late, Twilight,” I said. I tossed my head at the mattress on the floor over by the bed frame pieces. “You take the bed, I’ll grab the couch.”
She looked like she was going to argue until another yawn split her face. “Deal,” she said, heading to the bathroom to change.
I was already changed and tossing a blanket over the couch when she returned. I gave her a quick glance.
“We still doing lunch tomorrow?”
“Of course,” she said. “I’ve got to see what Joe’s is like on this side.”
“Hey, Sunshine?” I heard Twilight call from the bathroom.
“Yeah?” I called back, stirring some loose leaf Equestrian tea into the pot of boiling water. I had learned the rule that Sunset had learned for loose leaf tea - one for the pot and one for each person drinking - and added an extra scoop to bring it to the strong, bracing taste that I had come to enjoy as a morning drink over coffee. I set the pot aside to steep and went over to the bathroom door. “Everything ok?”
“Can I borrow some clothes? Mine are smelling a little ripe.”
“Well, you have been wearing them every time you come through,” I said. “I don’t imagine the portal cleans them between trips.” I turned and glanced at the boxes I had brought over containing clothes. “I’ll see what I have, hold on.”
A short search turned up a skirt and a white blouse that fit relatively well but had been a bit long on me. Since the Princess was a little taller than I was, they were probably a better fit for her.
She came out later, fussing with the buttons, her fingers fumbling with the small fasteners. I gave her a hand and then pulled on a denim jacket over the tank top I was wearing.
“Well,” I said, handing her a mug of the tea. “How’s the fit?”
She took a sip of the tea, murmuring in appreciation of the taste. “It’s a little snug around the shoulders, but comfortable,” she said, doing up the last buttons. She glanced down at the skirt. “This, however,” she said, reaching down with one hand to adjust it slightly. “This is a little loose.”
“It’s supposed to be worn with a belt,” I said, nudging a box with my stocking foot. “They’re in there with shoes. I’ll dig them out after we finish breakfast.”
Twilight sipped her tea again and sighed. “This is heavenly,” she said. “I can’t quite put my finger on where I’ve tasted this before, though.”
“I would hope you would recognize it,” I said, smiling.
“It is Princess Celestia’s favorite blend.”
I pulled into the parking lot of the doughnut shop. It was mostly empty this time of day, only a few scattered people dropping in for a quick cup of coffee. The interior was much as I remember it, slightly dingy, but in that welcoming way. It reminded me of the comforter on my bed at my parent’s house, a comforting warmth despite its worn edges.
“Welcome to Joe’s,” a voice called out as we entered. “What can we get for you two fine young ladies today?”
I rolled my eyes at the flattery. “An eclair for me, please,” I said, glancing at my counterpart.
“The same, please.”
We sat down after receiving our delicacies and proceeded to enjoy them with some light banter.
“So Sunset tells me you’re interested in learning spells of your own,” she said in a hushed voice. “I don’t know much about the magic on this side of the portal, but you’re welcome to visit the castle any time for lessons. You’ve got the potential for some pretty neat spells, but I can’t teach them here.”
I nodded. “I figured as much,” I sighed. “Even after gaining those powers at the camp, I haven’t been able to learn anything new through self-study.” At least relevant to learning new spells.
“I sense you’re not telling me the full truth,” Twilight said with a smile. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, now.”
I blushed. Of course she could tell when I was being evasive.
“While we were on the cruise, Sunset and I discovered a, well,” I hesitated, searching for the right word. “Intimate change in the bond that we share.”
“The one where you can sense each other’s emotions?” the princess across from me asked.
“Yes,” I said. “We can share thoughts and mental images. Sometimes without meaning to.”
“That’s interesting,” Twilight said. “I’ve heard of some spells that let ponies link thoughts for a short while, and from our talks with Thorax, we know the Changelings share a minor form of a hive mind. But I’ve never heard of anything like that spontaneously forming.”
“It could be because of how our bond formed,” I said. “It was rather…unconventional.”
“I never heard the whole story,” my counterpart said.
“You heard about my device,” I said nervously. “The one I built to track magical energy?”
“That also absorbed magical energy?”
“The same,” I said. “The first time it absorbed energy from Sunset, it was through the portal. Shortly after that, the portal stopped working. I never did find out why.”
“That may be on my end,” Twilight said. “About the time the Games were going on here I was having an all out duel with Starlight with her tampering with the temporal fabric of Equestria. Multiple times I returned to the present and my castle was gone, only the map table remained.” She tapped her fingers together. “I think at those times neither the mirror nor the book that Sunset and I used to communicate existed.”
I sighed with relief. “I was always worried it was something I’d done,” I said, popping the last of my eclair into my mouth.
Twilight smiled. “When it was my fault for not reaching out to Starlight the right way first. I tried out-magicking her instead of talking to her.”
I chuckled. “Sunset had to wait till I was distracted by Spike to overpower my Midnight form,” I said. “We were pretty evenly matched till then.”
“What made you give up? I remember Sunset when she transformed and the power of the Elements had taken over.”
“It was what she said,” I said, remembering the words, the indecision. “All she said was ‘Take my hand, Twilight. Let me show you there’s another way. Like someone once did for me.’ You had that deep of an effect on her.”
Any reply Twilight would have offered was interrupted by a buzzing sound from my oversized bag. I dug the journal out to find a message from Sunset, telling me that she and her sisters would be coming through the portal in about four hours, allowing time for Glory to sober up a bit.
“Anything you want to do before then?” I asked.
“I hear there are botanical gardens around here. Fancy a stroll?”
I nodded. “And there is a nice gelato stand that works the area. Ever had it?”
She shook her head.
I smiled.
“You’re in for a treat then,” I said.
Sitting on a stone block, we enjoyed the gelato we had gotten.
“It’s interesting,” Twilight said. “It’s dense, more dense than even Equestrian ice cream. Incredibly flavorful, too.”
I licked the butterscotch scoop I had, savoring the richness of the treat.
“It’s made with less aeration than traditional ice cream,” I said. “It makes it thicker.”
“Excuse the question,” she said between licks of her own strawberry cone. “But how is it you know all these foods?”
“I tend to seek things like this out now that I have friends,” I said, finished with the gelato and left with the waffle cone. “I want to share things like this with them. And the magic energy tending to burn the calories off isn’t a bad side effect.”
“I wondered why I was always hungrier on this side,” Twilight mused.
“Yeah, ever since the Games we’ve all had healthier than normal appetites.” I smiled. “And now that we all seem to be pairing up, we’re all setting down roots. AJ is helping Dash train for her tryouts, ‘Shy models for Rarity willingly, and Sunset has gotten me into reading more than just research material, even proofing her own stories!”
“I’m having a hard time believing some of those girls are even together,” Twilight said. “I always figured AJ and Rarity would have a closer bond since they have similar backgrounds.”
“Maybe your AJ and Rarity,” I said, smiling. “I tend to forget there are differences between the two at times too. The gowns your Rarity make are more refined, a precise hand, drawn from experience. My Rarity is learning that precision now, and maybe when you all come over for the wedding they can swap tips.”
Twilight smiled at the thought, then sat up. “Are we running late?” she asked.
I glanced at my watch. “No, we’ve still got a half hour to get there.” I stood up, stretching slightly. “We can be there just a little ahead of them if we leave now. I know a shortcut.”
As we walked, I shared the rest of the details about the mental link Sunny and I shared, including the fact she could create dreamscapes, lucid dreams that we could share, though we both had to go into them willingly. We hadn’t just slipped into each other’s dreams by accident.
I also left out some of the activities we shared in those dreams, though it did slip out that we had spent time flying as Pegasi or Alicorns.
“I know what you probably looked like,” She said. “How did she look?”
“My opinion is a little biased, you know,” I said, feeling a blush trying to creep up my neck.
“Humor me,” the Princess of Friendship said.
“Regal,” I said. “It made me feel a little…I don’t know, smaller. But every time I gave her those wings, as soon as she could she cast them off again like they repulsed her somehow.”
“That’s odd,” Twilight said as we approached the school. “She seemed to resent me when she first came in to steal my crown because of the wings.”
“Did she ever tell you why she was so afraid to face Celestia?” I asked quietly.
“No,” she said. “We always tended to avoid the subject.”
“She has a lot of guilt, even now,” I remembered the few times when we first started dating the sleepless nights from wrestling with those inner demons. “I caught a hint of one just after we got back. One of the last things she said to the Princess was a demand that she be made a princess, to stand next to her as an equal.” I looked at her, locking eyes with my twin. “If not her better.”
Twilight’s face twisted with sympathy. “I never knew,” she whispered.
“Don't tell her I told you,” I said. “She’s embarrassed to admit to her doubts even to me, and she doesn’t know I know what she said to the princess.”
“It’s safe with me, Sunshine,” she murmured, patting me on the shoulder.
We rounded the corner to the statue, seeing Sunset standing there with two unknown women with familiar haircuts. The one with purple hair was shrieking.
“What…what is going on?” Glory cried, staring at her hands.
“I know that feeling,” Twilight murmured as we closed in.
“Well,” I said a little louder. “You’re early.”
Sunset turned to me a smiled as we closed the distance.
“You two look nice,” she said. “Did I interrupt a date?”
Author's Note
And the circle is now closed, linking back up with There's More That's Out There and all that's left now is to link Raison d'Etre up and I think that'll account for all the clues I need to lay.
