“What?!”
The cry pierced the heavens, awakening all birds within the castle. The sounds of a reeling tape measure echoed throughout the structure, as a very panicked lavender alicorn desperately attempted to ratify her current situation.
“No, that can’t be- one more measure! That has to do it!”
It was no use.
Something had happened whilst she had been slumbering, and while she could see it, she was not sure if anypony else would be able to.
“My friends, they can help! They have to! This is something monumental, and it could- no, I couldn’t be, could I?”
--------//|0|\--------
The lavender alicorn left her home, a massive crystal castle in no way related to any acrylic playsets, twitching and shuddering. Her magic floated a tape measure, a yard stick, while she carried a pencil and notepad in her mouth. She checked the base of the castle against the measurements she had from a time before when she was bored. Everything matched up to what she had seen inside the castle, which sent her state of panic spiralling further.
“Howdy Twi, what are y’all doin’?” An orange Earth pony approached Twi, cocking an eyebrow as she witnessed the antics of her compatriot, Twi flitting about and panicking as she measured everything.
“No time to talk Applejack,” Twi managed to stammer out, “something has happened, and I want to figure out what it is!” Twi shot off, leaving Applejack shifting her hat in confusion.
“What in tarnation is she talkin’ ‘bout?”
--------//|0|\--------
Sugarcube Corner. The home of the best sweets around. Twi was sure that it had not been affected by whatever she was trying to figure out- what was she trying to figure out? Ah, reality had been shifted, somehow, but she was trying to figure it out regardless, and she would not rest until the culprit had been found.
“Hiya, Twilight? Whatcha looking for? Is it me, is it something else? Ooh, what about Discord?” A pink mass of sugar and happiness bounced around Twilight, disappearing and reappearing at random. Stopping for a minute, she started at Twilight’s frantic gaze, watching as she kept glancing around and shaking, her tape measure moving faster than her own eyes could perceive.
“P-Pinkie, something has h-happened to reality. I don’t know what it is, yet, but I w-will find out!” Pinkie raised an eyebrow as Twilight zoomed off, leaving a trail of dust and confusion.
“What happened- oh, that’s what she means! Okay!”
--------//|0|\--------
Carousel Boutique, the center of the newest trends in fashion. Twilight had to make sure that the shift had not affected the fashionista. She understood how her friend could get flustered over a simple change in her routine, and how a tiny mess could explode into a monumental hurricane disaster zone. Twilight knocked carefully, shying away from the door before a marshmallow-white unicorn came sauntering out, her nose up in the air before she flashed an innocent smile at Twilight.
“Darling! Oh, how are you? You’ve been cooped up in that castle for a week now! Come in, come in!” Before Twilight could explain anything, her friend dragged her inside, closing the door behind her. Three heads popped out of a nearby bush, their voices quiet and hushed.
“Should we tell her?”
“No. That would be cheating.”
--------//|0|\--------
The white unicorn hummed as she moved around her shop, holding various dresses and hats up to Twilight’s body, shaking her head as she took down notes.
“Rarity, this is serious!”
“Hush, Twilight, darling! You must be patient! A seamstress never gives less than her very best! Ooh, I should write that one down!” Trotting over to her desk, Rarity hummed as she wrote down her little turn of phrase, sighing as she smiled. A rush of air behind her confused her before she turned around to see-
“Twilight!”
--------//|0|\--------
Twilight was shaking as she continued her quest to find out exactly what had shifted in reality, her eyes darting around. She could not shake the feeling that somepony, or something was following her around. Her mind began to settle on one thought, and that thought began to override everything else.
What if it isn’t reality that has shifted, but me? What if I have shifted realities?! What then!?
She tiptoed around, hiding behind buildings and spying on ponies. She had to know if she was in her own reality, or another. In fact, she had no idea how to tell. Quantum theory dictated that there could be infinite realities for every choice ever made, which meant that she could be anywhere in the Multiverse-
“Hey, egghead! What’s going on?” A cerulean pegasus with a head of rainbow floated above, Twilight measuring her house and trying to understand if she was here or there. Twilight looked up, grabbing her friend and dragging her down to her eye level.
“Rainbow. Something has happened-” Rainbow dragged herself out of Twilight’s grip, her face a mask of confusion until it appeared something dawned on her.
“Twilight, what are you talking about? The sky is clear, no rain was scheduled today, so we’re all good!” Rainbow made a point of motioning around, pointing out the lack of clouds, the lack of inclement weather, and the fact that ponies were out and about having fun, frolicking about in the great sunshine.
“Rainbow- wait, how do I know you’re my Rainbow Dash?”
“Your Rainbow Dash? Twilight, what are you talking about-”
“That’s it! I’m not in my own reality, I’m in someone else’s reality! That’s the only explanation-” Rainbow stuck her hoof in Twilight’s mouth, starting to giggle as she smiled at Twilight. Sweeping her into a hug, she laughed, shaking her head.
“Twilight, whatever you’re going on about, you’re not making any sense!”
--------//|0|\--------
Off in the distance, Pinkie, Applejack, and an amalgam of animal parts watched as Twilight had a nervous breakdown while talking to Rainbow Dash.
“Discord, what did y’all do to Twi?”
“I shifted reality.” Pinkie stopped to raise an eyebrow, her face set in a serious expression.
“Discord?”
“Only by 20 centimeters. The fact that she was the only one who noticed was priceless. By the way, Pinkie...”
He turned to face Pinkie, holding out his paw.
“I won the bet. You owe me 10 bits.”
Author's Note
I don't know if this is funny, I don't know if it's actually any good, but I could NOT get this "Twilight notices that reality has shifted by 20 centimeters, but no one else does" out of my head for the last month.