Normally, Canterlot was a calm city, going with its princess as she moved at the leisurely pace afforded to the immortal. Normally, Canterlot didn’t have a royal wedding and an invasion on the same day.
Now, exhilarated by both the festivities and the fact that they were still alive, the ponies of Canterlot well and truly partied, and Celestia with them. Even after the happy couple had trotted off into the sunset—she hadn't been able to resist bringing the sun back up for them—the party still stretched on. Between earth pony endurance and the surprisingly relaxing properties of changeling cocoons, Celestia was still up and dancing at an hour she rarely saw, and almost never in such happy circumstances.
"Your Highness?"
Celestia opened eyes that had gone shut with sheer giddiness and saw a unicorn who didn't seem to know what to make of her sovereign cutting loose. "Yes, Rarity?" Celestia said with a grin, seeing no reason to stop dancing. If anything, shattering Rarity's pedestal for her was further motivation.
Rarity looked around and toyed with a ragged and presumably hard-won bouquet. "I was going to ask you something, but this is a tad public for what I had in mind," she half-shouted over the music. "Could we perhaps meet at the Boutique? At your earliest convenience, of course."
Celestia nodded, idly noting that a glow bracelet had somehow found its away around her horn. "The moment there's a hole in my schedule, I'll let you know."
"Thank you ever so, Your Highness," said Rarity, bowing as best she could in the middle of the dance floor.
"Always happy to help, my little pony. Especially one who has done so much for me."
Of course, holes in Celestia's schedule had a habit of filling themselves whenever she so much as blinked. Five weeks, a restored Crystal Empire, and far too many Pinkie Pies later, she was finally able to send Rarity a letter with a specific date. Soon, thought Celestia, it would be time to try releasing Discord to offset the visions of ruin that had been haunting her dreams. Soon it would be time to send Star Swirl's Unfinished Spell to Twilight, and all that that entailed. Soon it would be time for a lot of things. She'd have to thank Rarity for giving her the chance to enjoy a relatively relaxing day in Ponyville before all the tumult that would follow.
"You're certain you don't wish us to accompany you, Your Highness?" Stern Demeanor, the head of Celestia's guard escort, said outside of Carousel Boutique.
She nodded, repressing a sigh as several passersby noticed her and supplicated themselves. "I will be visiting the Bearer of Generosity, Lieutenant Demeanor. If I'm not safe around her, something has gone dreadfully wrong."
"Something like some shapeshifting bug replacing your niece?"
Celestia held back a wince. "I suppose so, yes. But my orders remain the same regardless. I would much rather the Bearers see me as a friend than commander-in-chief, pointing them at threats to Equestria like some six-mare special forces squad."
The lieutenant muddled over that for a moment before saying, "Isn't that what they are?"
"If they were, I'd have ordered them to Canterlot. When not saving the world, I will see them live normal lives."
"Which is why you, ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Sun, are paying one a personal visit because she asked you to."
Celestia gave him a flat look. "Lieutenant, I know I made you the head of my personal guard contingent because you were unafraid to question me, but there is a limit to such things."
"As you said, Your Highness, you picked me because I call it like I see it, and I see this as a needless security risk."
"And I see it as having a life beyond the throne. Your concern has been noted, Lieutenant. Rest assured that I will be on guard for changeling activity, slim though the chance may be."
He sighed. "I suppose that's all I can ask."
"I do thank you for your concern, Stern." Celestia looked about the other guards, who clearly weren't sure how to take their commanding officer talking back to Celestia Herself. "If everypony could keep any photographers away from the Boutique? I'd like to avoid a repeat of the Cake Incident."
The guards answered her with a half-dozen salutes before spreading out around the building. Celestia nodded to herself, then turned to the front door and knocked.
Hoofsteps sounded on the other side at a familiar rate, the gait of a pony who was hurrying but didn't want anypony on the other side of the door to know it. Sapphire magic nearly threw the door open. "Princess!" Rarity bowed, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Oh, it is ever so wonderful to see you! Thank you again for accepting my invitation."
"Please, Rarity, stand. And my apologies for the delay."
"Oh, no need, no need!" Rarity cleared the doorway, nearly bouncing on her hooves. "Why, I can scarcely imagine what your schedule must be like. Honestly, I would've thought myself lucky if you'd come by some time this year!"
"I was beginning to think along those lines myself." Celestia looked around "How can I help?"
"Well, you see, I've been looking into expanding into the international market, especially Saddle Arabia." Rarity walked as she talked, righting the ponnequins and other displays she'd knocked over in her haste as gracefully as she could. "The visit a few weeks ago actually gave me some invaluable help in that regard; Ambassador Amira is simply a delight, and exceptionally well-connected besides. But it's one thing to know who to contact, and quite another to have something that makes it worth contacting them."
"You need a model who can fit the Saddle Arabian frame."
"Precisely! Even the most statuesque unicorn just doesn't have the right proportions. I'm afraid only an alicorn will do, and it isn't as though we have one in Ponyville."
Celestia couldn't help but smile, though she at least held her tongue.
"Now, I would have asked Cadence, but one does not intrude on a mare's wedding to ask her petty favors." Rarity scowled. "Certainly not after the brouhaha with that wretched creature who nearly ruined everything. And Luna was... Well, you seemed much more approachable, shall we say."
Celestia cocked her head. "Out of all ponies, you have nothing to fear from my sister, Rarity."
"Normally, no. When she was wielding a microphone stand like a battleaxe in time with an Old Ponish drinking song?" Rarity gave a sheepish grin. "You might say I was a bit hesitant."
Celestia presented a much warmer smile, stifling a laugh at the many memories the image brought forth. "Yes, I can see how that might be a bit off-putting." She looked around. The shop floor was clear, but she couldn't find anything in her size. "Where are the dresses you wanted me to model?"
"I'm afraid there aren't any at the moment. I need to take some measurements first, make sure the proportions are right. It shouldn't take too long; once we're through I can design an appropriately sized ponnequin and proceed from there." Rarity paused by the stairs and looked back. "If you could follow me to my inspiration room? I've prepped the materials there, and I suspect your guards would appreciate not having to keep onlookers away from the windows."
Celestia looked behind herself. As she'd expected, a crowd had already formed around the Boutique. Her guards were doing all they could to block any unwelcome camera shots, but that still left plenty of eyes on her. "That does seem like the best course of action. Lead on, Rarity."
Upstairs they went, and towards a room with the curtains drawn. "A bit dark, isn't it?" said Celestia.
"One must be able to see fabric in a variety of lighting conditions. I usually leave the curtains drawn in here to keep any fabrics from fading in the sun. Er, no offense."
"None taken," Celestia said with a smile, following her in.
Rarity's magic shut the door behind her, which Celestia hadn't expected. She also hadn't expected a bucket of something to fall off the door and onto her back. Celestia flinched as she felt a cold substance spread across everything from the back of her horn to her croup.
"Oh goodness!" Rarity gasped. "Celestia, are you all right?"
"Just surprised." Celestia smiled, amusement winning out over disgust. "I must say, Rarity, I didn't take you for the pranking type. Or was this that little sister of yours I've heard about?"
Rarity settled herself into a lidded smirk. "No, my dear, that bucket of synthetic changeling resin was all my doing."
"Well, then a fine use of a classic... Wait. What did you say this was?" Celestia tried to spread her wings, only to find them glued to her sides by the slowly spreading ooze.
"Synthetic changeling resin. Does all manner of unpleasant things to pony magic."
"Rarity, this isn't funny." Celestia tried to ignite her horn, but with half of it covered in the hardening slime, all she could produce were fitful sparks. She glowered and lowered her head. If nothing else, the thing was still sharp. "Release me and I will be lenient."
"Oh, Celestia. You are in no position to bargain." Rarity lit her own horn, and a circle of light flashed into appearance around them. Despite the cold glow, the shadows in the room only seemed to deepen.
Celestia gasped and went to her knees as ice gripped her heart. She shivered for the first time in centuries. "H-how are you doing this? And why?"
"How?" Rarity pulled a chaise lounge to her and lay on it, looking for all the world like a model waiting for her artist. "I really must thank you, Princess. You've trained Twilight marvelously. Why, pose just about any magical question to her and she'll eagerly explain the ins and outs. On a strictly hypothetical basis, of course. You know, like, 'Hypothetically speaking, how would one go about making an anti-solar spell circle?' Or, 'As a thought exercise, could you recreate that foul substance the changelings used to restrain us?' Things like that.
"As for why?" Rarity shifted, resting her chin on her hooves. "Well, I'd always been a staunch royalist, but after Nightmare Moon, I found myself thinking, 'You know, perhaps I could do it better.'"
Celestia had been trying to rise all through the monologue, the dark magic circle defeating her every attempt. But hearing this made her go stock still. "What?"
Rarity just tossed her mane. "Let's be honest, Celestia, you don't have the best track record of late. Making us mop up after you with Luna, that dragon, Discord... Chrysalis was just the final nail in the shoe. The contrast between her and the real Cadence was like night and day. Anypony who's so blind as to fall for such a poor performance and who can't even squash a bug doesn't deserve the throne."
"Being a princess is about more than overt strength. There's—"
"All manner of other considerations, believe me, I know. Twilight's not the only mare who can research. Back when I dreamed of courting Blueblood, I made sure I was prepared for a role among the nobility. I know how much is expected of you Celestia. Trust me, your workload is only slightly heavier than mine. It's a surprisingly small leap from fashion empire to actual empire."
Celestia narrowed her eyes. At this point, it was about all she could do. "If you think Luna—"
"Ah, yes, Luna. As it happens, I have a plan for her, and it begins with you. You see, I asked Twilight one more innocent little question before I began all this." Rarity ripped the sheet off of what Celestia had assumed was an in-progress dress. Instead, beneath it was an unconscious, winged doe, glowing with her own soft, pure light.
Celestia gasped. "A purehart. You actually reached up to the heavens and called down a purehart."
"Believe me, it wasn't easy. But that was just a matter of finding the right book. No, what I asked Twilight was a bit more complex." A pair of shears floated into view. Fine runes carved into the metal glowed with a baleful light the color of an old scab. Rarity pondered them for a moment before driving them into the purehart's throat.
The angel's light flared for a moment, blinding even Celestia. Her ears rang with what she thought was the purehart's dying scream before the pain in her throat made her realize it was her own. But even as Celestia screamed her throat raw, that pain couldn't compare to the tearing sensation in her soul, as though six great beasts had grabbed her by the legs and wings and were trying to pull her apart.
Somehow, Celestia retained consciousness until the pain faded, though the room swam in her vision. Proportions and distances seemed off. Her own body felt strange to her, every nerve prickling with unfamiliar sensations. Then she registered the alicorn in the room. One with a coat as white as Celestia's, but a mane that coiled into itself in infinite fractal spirals that twisted of their own accord. An alicorn who looked down on Celestia, and not merely because only one of them stood. "Well," said Rarity, a smug grin across her lips. "I'd say that worked very well, don't you?"
"Wha..." Celestia looked at herself. Sure enough, her wings were gone. The third ear that heard the song of the earth had gone silent. Even her mane was nothing but hair, pink fibers she hadn't seen in more than a millennium. She still felt her horn, though focusing enough to channel mana through it felt impossible in her current state. "How could you?"
"It's for the good of Equestria. Really, you should be thanking me, but I can't really blame you for not appreciating the long-term benefits." Rarity lit her horn, the mystical light playing sinister shadows over her face. "I suppose you kept your unicorn magic since I already had my own, but that leaves far too much possibility for revenge for my tastes. Ta ta, Celestia. Enjoy oblivion."
A rhomboidal gap opened beneath Celestia. Too weak to stand, she had no hope of getting away from it before falling in. She watched Rarity watch her fall until the usurper was too far away to see amid the streaming colors of the realm between realms, a fall with no end.
No, she realized. There was an end. Death by thirst. It would be a few days. Perhaps... perhaps there might be hope?
As if in response, she hit... something. It was indistinguishable from any other part of the interstitial realm, but there was definitely a feeling more of sliding than of falling, as though Celestia were going down some immense funnel. The draw became more and more horizontal, until she found herself careening through some tunnel of space beyond space. The speed increased all the while, surely near the speed barrier, and then...
Light. Motion. Stillness. Too much after however long Celestia had spent between worlds. She shut her eyes, tried to gather her thoughts.
Celestia had always been rather bemused by the phrase "The unthinkable has happened," if only because she had been fairly certain she'd thought of everything. Everything bad, at least. Any time the unthinkable had happened to her, it was because some clever pony had thought of something useful. To Celestia, the unthinkable happening was a good thing.
Until now.
Now she was woolgathering on how impossible her situation was to keep herself from focusing on the situation itself. Unfortunately, her attempt to crawl into her own navel by way of metareference simply reminded her that Equestria needed her, and at some point she'd need to put on her big-filly hipposandals and figure out where she now stood.
"Ano..."
The voice came just as Celestia had drawn up her resolve, but not before she'd opened her eyes. She couldn't help but frown. That couldn't have been—
"Daijobu desu ka?"
"Fluttershy?" Celestia opened her eyes and saw... legs. And boots. She looked up and saw... something. A yellow something with a pink mane, a concerned expression, and a hand reaching down. She took it, idly noting her own pale pinkish hand, and got dragged to only two legs. Two feet of her own, in much smaller shoes. She seemed to be wearing... well, she could only call it a sundress, one with her cutie mark embroidered front and center. "What's going on? And why are you speaking Neighponese?"
"Gome— Um, sorry." Fluttershy—it certainly seemed like Fluttershy; the voice was a perfect match—scratched at her tiny nose. "Are you okay?"
"I'm not sure." Celestia took a look around her surroundings. More of the creatures, as colorful as ponies though with far more clothing, were filtering into some large building. "I'm not sure about a lot of things right now."
"Does that mean you don't remember anything about your magical realm?"
Celestia's head whipped back to the yellow creature. "What?"
She looked away and wrung her hands. "W-well, you kind of got spat out of the school statue and you knew my name. That usually means either magic or technology so advanced that it basically is magic. Or magical technology."
"In my case, it is simply magic. And betrayal."
The Fluttershy-thing gasped with delight. "Oh good, you remember!" She shrank in on herself as she registered Celestia's words. "Oh! Gomen, I... Well, this is just like one of my favorite series. Sort of."
Any response Celestia might have offered was preempted by an alarm bell sounding from within the building.
"Oh no! We're going to be late!" Fluttershy giggled for some reason. "We're going to be late! All we're missing is toast!"
"Toast," echoed Celestia. She hoped she was simply missing a number of cultural differences. She was starting to suspect this version of Fluttershy was simply insane.
Mad or not, Fluttershy grabbed Celestia's hand and dragged her to her feet before racing for the building's front doors, still holding on. Celestia couldn't help but focus on the contact. She knew of hands, of course. One couldn't negotiate with minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, Abyssinians, and so forth and not know of the graspers that many species used in lieu of telekinesis. But she'd never had hands of her own before, never felt another's warm fingers enmeshed with her own. Even if she had, nopony would ever dare be so familiar with her. Even Rarity had kept her at hoof's length in those final moments. But this girl, this strange Fluttershy, had snapped her up as quickly as the one she knew had abducted Philomena. Perhaps for the same reason.
"Fluttershy, I—" Celestia blinked. As she'd been focusing on hands, they'd gone inside and now stood before one of the doors within the building. "Where are we?"
"Don't worry, I'll explain everything soon." Fluttershy knocked on the door.
"Come in," came a voice on the other side. A strangely familiar voice.
Fluttershy opened the door, and Celestia felt her jaw drop. There, at a desk disturbingly like the one she used when catching up with work she couldn't attend to on the throne, sat a woman with her exact skin tone. The same sun as on her skirt was pinned to the other's blazer. All the colors of the sunrise ran through her mane, not just the pink of first dawn, though said mane didn't move in the solar wind. She looked up, and for a moment, her shocked look perfectly matched how Celestia felt. It soon shifted to a bemused grin. "My goodness," she said. "Fluttershy, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd found me when I was sixteen. Other than the hair, anyway."
The other creature rose... and rose... and rose. These beings were all lanky compared to ponies, but this one seemed more leg than mare. A condition Celestia knew all too well. She walked around her desk and extended a hand. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Principal Celestia. I take it you'll be joining us at Canterlot High?"
Celestia took... Celestia's hand. She knew handshakes well from the minotaur ambassadors, though she only gave a light squeeze. A species which much thinner limbs probably wouldn't take an attempt to fracture bones as a compliment. "I suppose so," she said, thinking fast. "I'm Sunny Skies."
"Huh." The principal's lips formed a familiar smile. "What a coincidence."
Celestia made a mental note to apologize to Twilight when she made it back. The "enigmatic mentor" act was much less entertaining when on the receiving end. "How so?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing," said Principal Celestia, literally waving it off. "Certainly nothing involving fake IDs before you were born." Before Celestia could give that much thought, the principal continued. "So! While I'm always happy to see a new face, I'm afraid we weren't given any warning about your arrival. Probably slipped the superintendent's mind; goodness knows she has her hands full with Fœnum Academy these days. While we get everything set up for you, how about you tag along with Fluttershy for today and get a feel for what it's like at CHS? You two seem to have become fast friends already."
Celestia simply nodded. Ideally, she wouldn't have to spend a second longer in this world than necessary, but the situation was already far from ideal. "Lead the way, Fluttershy," she said, offering the other girl her hand once more.
Fluttershy flushed and took it in hers. "H-hai."
Celestia filed that away, most of her thoughts on getting one last look at her doppleganger. These creatures weren't easy to read. The body language of most familiar bipeds didn't apply to them, given their missing tails and stunted ears. But she knew herself well enough to recognize the blend of amusement and thoughtfulness she saw in those pink eyes before the office door closed behind her.
She underlined Twilight's apology on her mental list before shaking herself out of her thoughts. There would be time to gather them later. For now, she needed to focus on her surroundings; she couldn't rely on Fluttershy to navigate these halls all the time, even if she'd be following the other girl for the day. Speaking of which... "This is a school?"
Fluttershy looked back in what was likely confusion, her mouth curled just a touch downward. "Well, yes. Do you not have schools in your world?"
Celestia shook her head. "It's rather similar to my magic academy in Canterlot. I just hadn't been sure at first."
"There's a Canterlot in your world?"
"There's a F—"
"Eep!" Fluttershy stopped short and pulled Celestia back from a turn in the hallway.
Celestia struggled to stay balanced as she staggered back. "What's—"
"Shh!" Celestia hadn't known it was possible to shout more quietly than most whispered, but Fluttershy managed. The other girl stayed locked in position, standing just before the turn and angling herself to see without being seen.
After a few moments passed, Fluttershy let out a breath. "Okay."
"What was that all about?"
"The meanest, scariest girl in school went by. You're the new kid. She'd have eaten you alive," Fluttershy said with the firm assurance of reciting proven facts.
"Fluttershy, I appreciate your concern, but I—"
"I've seen it before, Sunny." At that point, Celestia realized she'd never actually told Fluttershy her name. "I don't know what it's like back in your home, but I don't think anyone anywhere can stand up to Sunset Shimmer."
A chill shot down Celestia's spine. "I see."
Celestia found the classes a welcome distraction from all the memories hearing Sunset's name had unearthed. Art, literature, and history offered chances to understand this world of "humans" at both their best and their worst. Flipping through borrowed textbooks had shown her beauty and horror in equal measure. Not too different from any other race she had encountered—in her experience, no entire species could be purely good or evil—but the ways they dreamed and fought told her much about the creatures she had become. In them she saw the strengths and weaknesses of so many of Equestria's species, even when they seemed to contradict one another. Perhaps especially then. She imagined diplomacy with their leaders and thanked whoever might be listening that she had centuries of experience on her side.
Then came math, and the universality of numbers meant that the class offered nothing Celestia could use to distract herself from Sunset. From the frustration, the heartbreak, the fear that nopony would be prepared to confront Luna in her madness.
The sense of losing someone so close to her yet again.
Celestia found her eyes drawn to Fluttershy, who was dutifully taking notes. She knew of the Fluttershy of Equestria, of course. Aside from trying to help Philomena through her burning cycle, the Bearer of Kindness had been Celestia's choice for rehabilitating Discord. She had told Celestia of how the mad spirit had had to force her into cruelty. Surely a pony who could drive him to forfeit his games would be able to endure him long enough to show him the greater rewards of friendship.
But this Fluttershy was a stranger. A kind stranger, of course. Celestia remembered enough from Star Swirl's lectures on alternate worlds to know that the same soul would express itself similarly in different worlds, like different facets of the same gem. But it was foolish to assume one knew the gem through knowledge of a facet. The lapsing into Neighponese, the greater daring around a stranger, the willingness, no, eagerness to believe what Celestia had come to realize was an outlandish tale in this world, what did it all mean? Who was this slender creature, with her limpid eyes and pouting lips?
Celestia blinked. She might have delved too deeply into the poetry collections.
The bell rang. Mr. Doodle sighed. "Alright, homework's on the board. Sunny Skies, I expect it from you same as anyone."
Celestia nodded. It felt strange to be ordered again, to face someone with the authority to do so. She followed Fluttershy out of the classroom. "What's next?"
"Lunch. It will be nice not to sit by myself for a change."
"Nop... erson sits with you?"
"Not usually, no. Most people keep to their own kind, and I don't really fit in anywhere. I am sorry about what's happened to you, but it's kind of nice to have another outcast."
"What do you mean by 'their own kind?'"
"The cliques. You know, the rockers, the dramas, the eco-kids." Fluttershy pointed out different tables in the cafeteria as she listed the groups. "I used to be in a few groups, like the Neighponese culture club, but they broke up. We were just too different."
"In my experience, different perspectives make for richer friendships. Maybe if you—" Both Celestia's words and motion stopped when she spotted a curled, purple mane. "No."
"Sunny? Is everything okay?"
"Wh-which clique is that?"
Fluttershy followed her shaking finger. "The fashionistas. Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? Wrong? She..." Celestia looked at the girl again. The same curled mane, the same pale coloration... but an innocent expression and hands besides. Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's just... Well, let's just say one of them reminds me of some unpleasant memories."
Fluttershy smiled and took Celestia's hands in her own. "It's okay. We'll get you back home."
"Could we possibly sit far from that table?"
"Of course."
Thankfully, Fluttershy's afternoon courses were largely unfamiliar subjects for Celestia, especially the computer lab. She gave nary a thought to Sunset or Rarity as the classes passed one by one. The bell rang once more, and she said, "What's next?"
"Uh, nothing. The day's over."
"Oh." Celestia noted how the other students were filtering out much more eagerly. After all, they were headed... "Oh dear."
"What?"
"I don't have anywhere to go."
"Oh." Fluttershy shrugged. "Well, you can come home with me."
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."
"It's no imposition at all, really."
"If you're sure."
"I'll be happy to have you, really." Fluttershy smiled and took Celestia's hand. "Come on."
Celestia laughed as the other girl dragged her along. "When you put it like that, how can I say no?"
Fluttershy led her around the school, to where rows of metal constructs sat. Celestia watched as people got in and directed the devices out to the main road, where they joined others of their kind. No magic, so... "Internal combustion?"
"Yes. I don't really know much else about cars, though. I never really got into those series."
"Trains without tracks," Celestisa thought aloud. "Or coal, unless they have incredibly efficient boilers. Fascinating."
Fluttershy pulled something like a house key out of her purse and pressed it. A small 'car,' pink and white, beeped and blinked its lights. "That one's mine. On the ride to my house, we can talk about your world. Does that sound nice?"
"It does. Though I feel you should know that I'm not normally—"
"Human? I could tell. You had that look on your face like you'd never seen a human in your life."
Celestia paused long enough to consider this, and to copy Fluttershy's motions with the restraining belts. "Is that a common sort of look in this world?"
"No, but I've seen it before."
Fluttershy turned the key before Celestia could follow up on that. Celestia couldn't help but flinch a bit as she felt the cabin begin to shake a little. If Fluttershy noticed the imperfection, she didn't show any sign of it, instead saying, "So, tell me about your home."
"You really do believe me?"
"You came out of the school statue and spent about a minute staring at your own fingers."
Celestia smiled. "True. My home called Equestria..."
"... and by the time the guards reported back to me, Philomena was back on her roost, preening herself and acting like she'd been there the entire time!"
Fluttershy practically burst with laughter, squeaking as she tried to catch her breath. "I— I'm trying to drive! You can't make me laugh this much, Pin—" She went stiff and settled back in her seat, all signs of mirth lost.
"Fluttershy?"
"It's nothing."
"Were you going to call me Pinkie—"
"Oh look! We're home!" Inertia wrenched Celestia into the side of the car as Fluttershy turned it into a line-marked space with what was likely excessive haste. "Follow me." With that, she practically leapt out of the car.
Celestia frowned at her friend, then turned her attention to her surroundings. She first thought that somepo— someone had brought a cloudominium complex down from a pegasus city. The window-studded, wide, white towers certainly gave that impression. As she followed Fluttershy into one, she found it as solid as any other ground-level structure, but still stacked with an indifference towards the third dimension found only in the clouds or Manehattan. "What is this place?"
"Nimbus Heights," came the clipped response. Fluttershy jabbed an elevator call button.
Celestia gulped. "If... if I angered you—"
Fluttershy took a deep breath and shook her head. "No. Just some... frustrating memories."
"I see." After a moment, Celestia took Fluttershy's hand in hers. "If you want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen."
Fluttershy looked back and forth between Celestia's face and their entwined fingers. The tension drained out of her expression, leaving a faint smile and sad eyes. "Maybe later."
One of the elevators dinged and opened, though it lacked an operator. "Now don't be scared," Fluttershy said as she walked towards it. "This will take us up to my apartment faster than the stairs, but you'll feel—"
"Fluttershy."
She stopped and turned. "Yes?"
Celestia smiled. "I know what an elevator is."
"Oh." Fluttershy blushed as she went in.
Celestia followed her, looked around, and frowned. "Where's the operator?"
Fluttershy giggled for some reason.
Once they were off the self-operating elevator, Celestia said, "A thought occurs."
"Yes?"
"Do you live alone?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "My whole family lives here. Even my little brother. Try not to let the baka bother you; he's harmless."
"Then what exactly are we going to tell your parents?"
"Leave that to me." Fluttershy pulled a hard white card out of her purse and swiped it against a device next to the door. After it beeped, she opened the door and called out, "Tadaima!"
"Welcome home, dear." A bespectacled woman colored much like her looked up from a couch, where she had been reading a book. She adjusted her glasses. "And who's that with you?"
"Sunny-hime is a magical princess from another land who was banished here, and I’m going to help her win back her country!"
Fluttershy’s mother turned to Celestia, her flat-muzzled expression unreadable.
Celestia felt herself blush. Her thoughts raced, and she turned to Twilight for inspiration. "I transferred to Canterlot High today. Fluttershy and I hit it off and she wanted to have a sleepover."
Fluttershy’s mother shook her head, smiled, and performed a passable curtsy. "That’s actually less believable, Your Highness."
After a few moments of contemplation, Celestia said, "Does this sort of thing happen often in this world?"
"Only in Fluttershy's cartoons, Your Highness. I just know my daughter well."
"You can just call me Sunny," said Celestia, having decided that sharing a name with the principal would lead to too much unproductive confusion. "I'm not princess of much at the moment. Sorry for intruding on your hospitality like this."
"Honestly, I'm just glad to see Fluttershy making new friends again."
"I see." Celestia glanced at Fluttershy, who avoided eye contact with anyone and speedwalked to what Celestia presumed was her room. "Excuse me."
Fluttershy's mother dipped her head. "Of course."
Celestia pursued her target, sidestepping a greenish young man who let her pass while muttering what sounded like "Seven out of ten. Not enough rainbows."
"Fluttershy, we—" Celestia stopped and blinked, surprised by the sudden audience. What seemed like a thousand oversized eyes stared at her from every inch of the room, from figures in every color of the rainbow. Some wore variants of some manner of uniform, while others were adorned in outlandish confections of cloth that might have held back Rarity's coup just by daring her to reproduce them in reality. Half-nonsensical Neighponese script ran along the wall scrolls and posters. "What?"
"I, uh, like anime. A lot. It's why I say Neighponese words sometimes. It makes me feel a bit like I'm having an adventure of my own, instead of just watching others'." Fluttershy wilted. "That aren't really real. But then you came, and now—"
Celestia shut the door behind her and attempted to snort. It didn't come out quite right, but she pressed on. "Now, we need to talk."
"Yes! You had a great idea about the slumber party. You can tell me more about Equestria, and I can show you some series I just know you're going to love." Fluttershy moved to a set of bookshelves and started browsing through them. "Girl Love Bear Explosion is—"
"We need to talk about your other friends. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie—"
Fluttershy whirled on her, eyes hard. "Pinkie Pie is not my friend. And how do you even know about her?"
Celestia met her stare with a will forged by countless would-be conquerors. "Because in Equestria, in the town of Ponyville, there lives a yellow-coated pegasus with a pink mane. She lives in a cottage shrub on the very edge of town, because she's never felt very comfortable around other ponies. But she has five incredible friends who have been coaxing her out of her shell. One of them is a very, very pink earth pony who loves to sing and laugh and make everypony around her happy. Their names are Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and together with their friends, they have performed feats even I, at the height of my power, struggled to match."
Fluttershy crossed her arms and looked away. "Well this isn't Equestria."
Celestia looked down at herself and sighed. "That much is clear. But on our way here—"
"Oh, Pinkie made me laugh. She made all of us laugh. But when the time came to be serious for once, to sit down and shut up, she just doubled the volume!" Fluttershy started pacing about the room. "And then she had the nerve to be angry when I told her to leave what supposed to be a silent auction! She's the one who messed up, so she should be the one who has to apologize! If she thinks that she can walk all over me just like everybody else, that I'm going to let her after I thought we were friends... after all the..." She came to a halt, knees shaking "All the times that she... and I... and everyone..."
Celestia grabbed Fluttershy just before the other girl collapsed. Her own balance was shaky enough that it was all she could do to steer the two of them onto the bed. "It's okay," she said, one hand stroking Fluttershy's hair.
"No it isn't. I... I was so happy last year, and then it all fell apart. Dashie was mad at Applejack, and Rarity was getting mad at Pinkie, and then she just ruined the auction after I'd been planning it for weeks and..." Fluttershy's head darted up, tears in her eyes. "I don't know what happened! Everything just... just collapsed!"
"I think you know what you need to do," said Celestia.
"What?" Fluttershy stared at her for a few moments before shaking her head. "No, no, you can't be serious. I can't just call her after all this time. What am I supposed to say?"
"Maybe if you started with what you told me."
Celestia knew about telephone networks. Grand Bell had proudly demonstrated the prototype to her (despite Gray Leash's continuing accusations of theft,) and the first local networks had gone live in Manehattan a few years ago. She had seen speculation about the future of the device, of magical relays augmenting mundane wiring to bring all of Equestria within earshot. She had seen the wires along the road as Fluttershy had driven her here, and had drawn the logical conclusion.
She did not expect Fluttershy to pull a small fuchsia slab out of her purse and start poking at it. "What are you doing?"
"Pinkie probably still has me in her contacts, so there's no way she'll accept a call from me. Hopefully she'll read the text."
"... What?"
"Sunny, I really appreciate what you've done for me, but right now I can either mend fences with Pinkie or explain cellular networks to you, not both. Besides, I'd need to research for you, and that would mean explaining the Internet, and that—" Fluttershy jabbed at the slab one more time, dropped it, and fell back on her pillow. "Thank you."
"You're welcome?"
Fluttershy looked over, smiling despite the tears still visible through the pink locks strewn over her face. "It's a lot like what Pinkie used to do. If I just focus on talking to someone, I can't worry as much about other things, like phrasing a text in exactly the right way. Oh, I hope I didn't offend her." She blinked, her mouth forming an astonished "o". "You know, I really do hope I didn't offend her."
"Friendship is an incredible force. It can only truly be sundered when—" Celestia was cut off by the tiny telephone chirping like a bird.
"She replied!" Fluttershy snatched up the telephone. "She... she'd like to..." A smile worked its way across her face as she furiously poked at the screen. A few moments later, it started chirping again.
"Another message?" Celestia frowned as the bird call kept going. "A longer one?"
"No, that's a coconut lorikeet, not a regent parrot. She's... she's actually calling me." Fluttershy gulped, one finger hovering over the still-chirping screen. "Wish me luck."
Celestia took Fluttershy's offhand in her own. "Good luck."
Fluttershy smiled at her. "Arigato." She took up the phone. "Hello, Pinkie."
"I know."
"I know."
"Yes, but—"
"But it—"
"Silent auction, Pinkie, silent!"
Celestia squeezed.
"... You did?"
"But I didn't send you any texts then."
"No, I really didn't."
"It's... possible. Have you sent Rarity anything lately?"
"She says you send her an email every time, that you have enough volunteers already."
"I'll tell her; I don't know if she'll even look at your texts. Call Applejack and Rainbow Dash. If anyone can get the two of them to talk things out, it's you."
"I... I missed you too. Talk to you soon." Fluttershy hung up, dropped her phone like it was red hot. She tried to fall back on her bed, but noticed Celestia still holding her. She thus flopped in the other direction, turning the handhold into a clumsy embrace.
"That sounded like it went well," said Celestia, patting Fluttershy on the back for lack of any other ideas.
After a full-body squeeze, Fluttershy righted herself and said, "It was pretty touch and go at first, but, well, friendship is an incredible force."
Celestia smiled. "Well put."
"There's just one thing that still bothers me."
"What is it?"
"You said the pony Fluttershy had five friends. If there's a Pinkie, an Applejack, a Rainbow Dash, and a Rarity, who's the fifth?"
As the night unfolded, Fluttershy showed Celestia the wonders of the Internet, especially when it came to tracking down any hint of a given person's existence. Twilight Sparkle showed up in the honor roll and "social media" of a nearby preparatory academy. One look at the purple-skinned shrinking violet, and Celestia knew she was looking at a Twilight, if one who had never had a mentor who truly cared about her.
"The poor thing. I have to get in touch with her."
"Why?" said Fluttershy.
"If anyone can help me get back to Equestria, it's Twilight Sparkle. Her understanding of the arcane is almost unmatched, and with the five of you by her side, she can do virtually anything."
"But... that's the pony Twilight. Magic isn't even real in this world."
"Yes, but..." Celestia fell silent, worrying at the hem of her borrowed pajamas. But what? Her own analogue wasn't raising the sun. Probably not, anyway. "Yes. I suppose I was foolish to make such assumptions."
"How about I show you some cute cat videos?" said Fluttershy, opening another tab on her browser. "They always make me feel better when I'm down."
Celestia sighed. "It's not as though I can do anything else." Fluttershy's phone chirped again. "Regent parrot?"
Fluttershy nodded and checked the screen. She gasped. "Of course."
"What?" Celestia turned to her and saw a glare more ferocious than some of the most hardened veterans of the Guard had ever borne.
"The one who sent all the phony texts and emails, and who lied to Rainbow Dash about Applejack's bake sale."
"Who?"
"Sunset Shimmer."
The next day saw much hugging and commiserating between five terribly familiar girls in front of Canterlot High. Celestia stood off to one side until Pinkie Pie walked up to her. "So, you're Sunny Skies?"
Celestia nodded. "I hope you don't mind my meddling. I couldn't bear to see such good friends drift apart like that, especially to subterfuge."
"Hey, we're not the only friends here! Come on!" Pinkie latched onto her wrist and dragged her into the cluster of friends, where greetings and gratitude washed over her like a royal visit writ small.
"Everyone, everyone, please!" Celestia gasped out from within the cuddle huddle. It was much less enjoyable than just Fluttershy. "I'm just one m— girl!"
"Not just any mgirl!" cried Pinkie. "You're the mgirl who got one over on Sunset Shimmer!"
"And now we need to decide what to do about that scoundrel," said Rarity. "I, for one, think that breaking her streak in the Fall Formal will send a devastating message."
"I... think we have something more important to think about," said Fluttershy, looking straight at Celestia.
She nodded. "Sunset and I... If she is who I think she is, the two of us have some unfinished business."
"And who do you think I am?"
Celestia spun. The two-tone hair, the orange skin, the unmistakable cutie mark on her shirt. Even if all that were in doubt, the rage in those envy-green eyes was unmistakable. "Sunset Shimmer, I presume."
"Don't think you've fooled me for a second." Sunset leaned in close. Celestia couldn't help but note that she was now shorter than her former student. "I remember that little outing on Mares' Day."
Celestia's eyes widened as memories buried under pain rose up in her mind, of disguising herself as a pegasus to be with Sunset for a day of fun, and of calling herself—
"'Sunny Skies,'" sneered Sunset. "Honestly. Can you really only come up with one lousy pseudonym?"
"Pseudonym?" said Applejack.
Sunset barely spared her a glance. "It means 'false name,' hayseed."
"I know what it means, Shimmer."
"Then you also know that your so-called friend here has been lying to you from the moment you met her."
Celestia rolled her eyes. "You accuse me of a lack of creativity, Sunset? It seems like 'divide and conquer' is the only tactic you can think of. What happens when you try it against a group who has seen through you to the sad and desperate creature underneath?"
Sunset took in a sharp breath. "I rule this school, and I do it by actually getting my hands dirty! Something somepony who trots around in gilded hipposandals wouldn't understand, Princess!"
"Is anyone else lost?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Shoosh! I'll explain later," said Pinkie, halfway through a container of popcorn.
"How do you know?" said Fluttershy.
"I have a hunch!"
Celestia paid the others no more heed. "Rule through terror is no rule at all, not once the people rebel against you."
"They wouldn't dare," Sunset scoffed.
"Then time will unseat you. In two years, you'll have graduated, set adrift in this world. What then, Sunset?"
"Two years? Ha! In less than two moons, the portal will reopen. Or I could just follow you back." Sunset smirked. "Honestly, it's nice to know that you care enough to track me down. I suppose without my genius helping you, it took you a while to find an alternate route to this world."
"Sunset..." The burning rage in Celestia's breast died down to embers. "You've been gone from Equestria for over twenty years."
"What?" Sunset's own anger visibly drained from her, leaving her pale and shocked. "No. No, that's impossible. You're lying. You have to be lying!"
Celestia just shook her head. "I truly wish I were."
"Then why are you here?"
Celestia stiffened her back, very deliberately not turning back to face one girl in particular. Still, she couldn't help but look down. "A coup."
"A coup? Against you? Who'd be crazy enough to..." Sunset trailed off, expression darkening. "Oh. Of course you'd replace me. I was only a tool you'd throw away once you had your precious sister back."
"That was never my intent, Sunset, and if you had just listened—"
"Listened to what? Your lies? Your little assurances that I mattered to you, just like all the other students you had over the centuries?"
"Centuries!?" cried Rarity.
"Shoosh!"
"All of my students did matter to me, Sunset, every one of them."
"And yet you let them all die."
Memories flooded Celestia's mind. Good times. Bad times. Too many times. "It... it was never my choice."
"Sure it wasn't," said Sunset. "You could give immortality to all of equinity, but you—"
"Do you truly think me so cruel!? That I would deny immortality to my people if I had the choice? That I enjoy watching them wither and die while everypony forgets that there's a mare under the crown?" Celestia snarled through her tears. "You are still a child, Sunset Shimmer, a petulant brat who—"
The others gasped. Celestia took a step back, cradling her cheek. "Did you just slap me?"
Sunset sneered, shaking with rage as she shook out her hand. "Don't know if you noticed, Celestia, but now you're a child too. You want to talk entitlement? How about the new girl demanding the queen of the school's respect?"
Celestia glared at the other girl, drew her hand back—
And found her wrist held in two yellow arms. "It doesn't have to be like this," said Fluttershy.
"No one asked you," said Sunset. "Go back with the rest of the peanut gallery." She cast her gaze about the others, includng those who had gathered to the spectacle. "And if any of you even think of mentioning this—"
"Sunset, I need your help."
Sunset blinked, then ever so slowly turned to the speaker. "Excuse me?"
Head bowed, Celestia continued. "I was betrayed and banished by somepony I trusted. She stole the majority of my power. No doubt she commands the sun as we speak." With a deep breath, she faced Sunset again. "Has it really been fewer than thirty moons for you since you left?"
For several seconds, silence reigned. "You were serious about the twenty years?"
Celestia nodded. "Given the time dilation, she has likely been laying waste to Equestria for weeks. If we wait for the portal to reopen naturally, I dread to think of what we will find when we go through it. For the sake of our nation and our world, please, help me return to Equestria."
"You think I haven't tried?" Sunset cast her arms out. "This world is magically dead. Even if I still had my horn, I couldn't do anything with it."
"Perhaps not, but I know who can."
"Who?"
"The analogue of the student who came after you, Twilight Sparkle. She has already published papers documenting forces that this world's science cannot explain."
Sunset rolled her eyes. "So go ask her."
Celestia shook her head. "Alone, she'll think I'm crazy. With somepony who can corroborate my story, especially if she still has her journal..." She trailed off, smiling at her old student.
After a few moments, Sunset looked away and muttered, "I never could bring myself to get rid of it." She was quick to add, "But I don't even know if it still works!"
Celestia reached out to Sunset. "Would you like to find out?"
Sunset looked at the hand for long enough that Celestia's arm began to shake. Finally, she said, "On one condition."
"Anything, so long as it is within my power. And that doesn't include making you an alicorn."
"Apologize."
Celestia's jaw dropped. "Apolo—!"
A hand on her shoulder cut her off. "Celestia," Fluttershy all but whispered to her, "what was it you were going to tell me last night? Friendship is an incredible force. It can only be sundered when...?"
"... when both friends let it." Celestia shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sunset Shimmer. For all the ways I wronged you, for all the ways I misled you in our lessons, for when I blinded myself to your true needs, I am sorry."
"And the incident with my tenth birthday cake?"
Celestia cracked an eye open and smirked. "That was a prank. You can't expect me to apologize for you not having a sense of humor."
Sunset stared at Celestia for a few moments before her lip started twitching. With a snort, she let herself smile. "Okay, fine. Let's go see this Sparkle girl of yours." With that, she made for the parking lot.
"Uh, I hate to be a Debbie Downer," said Pinkie Pie, "but class started five minutes ago."
Sunset didn't even hesitate. "Class? Who needs class? Come on, you all just got recruited to save a magical kingdom full of ponies."
"Anyone else confused?" said Rainbow Dash.
Applejack nodded. "I lost track 'round the time Sunset called Sunny 'Celestia.'"
Celestia paid them little attention, instead smiling at Fluttershy. "Thank you," she said, taking the other girl's hands in her own.
Fluttershy worked her hands free, then wrapped Celestia in a much more comfortable embrace than five girls at once. "Thank you." After a moment, she added, "Though, um, your roots are starting to show."
"Roots?"
"In your hair, though it makes sense. I guess if you're the pony version of the principal, you'll have the same hair color."
Some time later, in a dusty, forgotten storage room in Castle Canterlot, an antique mirror hummed with energy. Through it stepped four ponies, or at least four pony shapes. Two were native Equestrians. Two were inhabitants of another world, tottering on their hooves like newborns. Between them were four wings, three horns, and two loving couples.
"Well, the quantumantic link worked," said Twilight Sparkle, trying to adjust her glasses and nearly falling to the floor in the process.
Sunset Shimmer caught her in teal magic and helped her steady herself. "Easy there." She took the opportunity to nuzzle Twilight. "Been wanting to do that for a while. Nice work, Egghead."
"Heh. Yeah. Good."
Meanwhile, Fluttershy looked up at Celestia. And up. And up. "You're... really tall."
Celestia couldn't help but smile. "I warned you."
Fluttershy nestled herself under one of Celestia's wings. "I never said I didn't like it." After a moment, she said, "Um, do you..."
"I may no longer have a brain full of human hormones, my dear Fluttershy, but my affection for you is still as big as the sun itself."
Barely audible, Fluttershy squeaked out a "Sugoi!"
A piercing whistle got everyone's attention, making them turn to a blue pony head poking out of the mirror. "You can all have weird horse makeouts later," said Rainbow Dash. "We have a beachhead to set up!"
Celestia and Sunset looked to one another and nodded. "For Equestria," they said together.
"For Equestria," echoed Fluttershy and Twilight.
"For Equestria!" cried Dash, and countless voices, muffled by magic and distance beyond reckoning, sounded behind her.
Author's Note
It is entirely possible that I should've asked for a reroll on this one.
Some inspiration credit likely goes to MythrilMoth's Cheer Princess. I can't say for absolute certain; everything kind of melds together into a vague conceptual melange in my mind.
Girl Love Bear Explosion is, in fact, based on an actual anime, Yurikuma Arashi, or Lesbian Bear Storm.
Yes, I'm going for the "pony + teenage human body = hormone rush" sudden infatuation model, along with a novelty-induced fascination with hand holding that may stretch into less-than-healthy territory. Still, I needed to de-age Celestia to make shipping her with anyone born this millennium feel less creepy. Thankfully, the "Mortal Celestia" card helped greatly there. Turning the "Moe Fluttershy" card into an otaku... well, Fluttershy didn't seem to be in any of the cliques in the first movie, and we know through the latest batch of shorts, there is an anime club. Combine that with the surprise guests from "Scare Master," and you have something vaguely resembling justification. 
(As for "Go to My Room," Celestia technically does it twice.)
