Chapter 1: Change of Plans
Summer is almost over and a new school year is right around the corner. Usually, Twilight would be head over heels getting her new school supplies, but with so little time left of summer, and the feeling that once school starts there won’t be any more time to spend with all of her friends, Twilight had chosen to dedicate as much time as she could to them now. As such, she had spent most of her afternoon sitting in the mall food court going over her notes, devising a plan for what she and her friends could do in these last few days of fun.
“Hmmm,” Twilight murmurs as she taps the end of her pen against her chin.
Lost in her thoughts, she is completely unaware of a certain pink-haired girl sneaking up behind her, ready to pounce, until…
“What are you doing, Pinkie?”
“Gah!” both Twilight and Pinkie cry in unison.
The two turn around to find their friend Fluttershy holding both her hands over her mouth, looking rather surprised herself. “Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you both.”
Soon Twilight finds herself joined by all her six friends as they gather round the table where she is sitting. It is a small one that could only hold about three people, but seeing Twilight all alone, her friends had decided to join her, managing to squeeze themselves together to keep her company.
“So, Twilight. Any reason why you're sitting here by yourself?” Sunset Shimmer asks.
“Well, I’ve been thinking, with school just right around the corner, we only have a few days of summer left,” Twilight explains.
“Awwwww,” Rainbow groans, “do ya have to remind us?”
Twilight smirks at Rainbow’s complaint, she suppresses the urge to giggle as her excitement begins to grow even more.
“I know, I know. But, as much as I look forward to a new school year to start, I’ve been thinking that with so little time left before school actually begins we won’t be able to spend as much time together, and with it being the last days of summer we really need to end it on a high note. So, I’ve been planning out ideas on what we could do aaaaaand the first thing I recommend is, a beach day this Saturday!”
A huge wide grin has grown on Twilight’s face as she looks around at her friends' reactions, however, she was met with awkward, sincere and sorrowful faces, each of her friends ashamed rather than pleased.
Twilight’s excited expression has now turned into a puzzled one as she looks at each of her friends' faces.
“Orrrrrr, we could save that for last if you want?” Twilight offers. “I still have other ideas we could—”
“Twilight,” Sunset interrupts.
Twilight looks towards Sunset and immediately takes notice of her serious expression.
“Listen, it all sounds great. And we all would really love to do this… but…”
“We,” Applejack continues, “all, kinda already have separate plans fer tha rest of summer.”
“Mhmm,” everyone nods and murmurs in affirmation.
Twilight doesn’t say anything at first, taking this moment to process what Applejack has said. The feeling of disappointment begins to creep into Twilight’s heart, but she shakes her head and tries to think positive on this, perhaps her plans might not be as ruined as she thinks.
“You do?” she asks, though her voice cracks a little, as though she is about to cry.
“Afraid so,” answers Applejack. “Me and my family will be headin’ out of town for a few days on family business.”
“I promised Scootaloo that it would be just the two of us this weekend, kinda a big sister, little sister thing we have got going on,” says Rainbow Dash.
“I’ve got tickets to Hoity Toity’s annual fashion show, it’s a simply can’t miss event,” Rarity squeals, delighted.
“I promised Mr. and Mrs. Cake that I’d help overtime at Sugarcube Corner. You will not believe how busy it can get during the last days of summer.” Pinkie Pie leans back, wiping an imaginary drop of sweat from her forehead.
“And I’m helping organize a fun fair day for all the pets in the animal shelter. I was hoping to ask you to join in, but all of the open spots were already taken,” says Fluttershy,
Twilight’s hopes had been almost completely dashed by now, at least there is still one person left.“What about you, Sunset?” she asks.
Sunset blushes, chuckling with a cringeworthy grin.
“I’m… entering a gaming tournament here in the mall,” she admits.
Twilight, as well as everyone else, are left looking quite stupefied at Sunset’s planned agenda.
“I know, it may not seem as important as the others. But, this is the first ever ‘Rise of Tirek National Grand Championship Tournament!’ The winner gets a hand-crafted statue of Tirek himself! I can’t possibly miss out on this!” says Sunset.
“Is that what that queues at the game shop are for?” Pinkie Pie asks. “Boy, good thing you already registered for it cause I heard that the registration for that thing closes in three minutes.”
Sunset’s face drops in complete despair. “Three minutes!?” she bellows, dumping her bag on the table before disappearing with just a blurry red trail following her.
“Wow, you’d think she has the geode for super speed with how fast she just went,” Rainbow says, before holding up the blue medallion hanging around her neck. “Of course, we all know who has that power, right?”
Applejack rolls her eyes. “We get it, Dash. But, getting back on topic here. We’re all truly sorry, Twilight.”
Twilight sighs. “It’s perfectly fine, Applejack. Honestly, I should have taken into account that you all may have had plans yourselves. I was so focused on the ideas of what all of us could do together the thought never occurred to me.”
“It’s so thoughtful of you to take the time to plan something special for all of us, dear. I can’t tell you how awful we all feel. The last thing we would want is to let you or anybody down,” says Rarity.
“Mhmm.” Everyone else nods.
“Thank you, I truly appreciate you all being honest and truthful with me. Though, I’d be lying if I didn’t feel just a little... disappointed…” Twilight then proceeds to slump her face down on the table with a groan.
Suddenly, the sound of continuous buzzing echoes from out of nowhere. Twilight lifts her face up from the table to see where the noise is emanating from. Her friends also scan around for the sound, soon noticing through the open flap that Sunset’s journal had begun to glow as well as powerfully vibrate within her bag.
The immense vibration of the book causes it to shake its way out of the bag and move towards the edge of the table. But just as the book is about to topple right off, Rainbow catches it in her hand. She holds up the book triumphantly as though she has just earned a trophy.
“Super speed does it again,” she brags.
Applejack rolls her eyes as she takes the book from Rainbow and proceeds to open it to the current entry.“Hmm,” she murmurs.
“What is it, Applejack? Is Princess Twilight in any trouble?” asks Fluttershy.
Applejack shakes her head. “It’s actually a message from Starlight Glimmer, though, by the sounds of it, the princess does sound to be in quite a pickle barrel.”
Twilight raises an eyebrow, intrigued. “May I see that?” she asks as she extends her hand out to Applejack.
“Uh, sure. I don’t see why not,” says Applejack as she hands the book to Twilight.
Twilight holds the book in both her hands as she reads the entry.
Dear Sunset Shimmer, how’s everything at Canterlot High going? Hope you and your friends are doing well, it’s been so long since I last heard from all of you. But this isn’t really a good time to catch up. Though things here in Equestria have been quiet for a while, the School of Friendship has gotten a little out of hoof.
“Whoa! She has her own school now?” Rainbow asks.
“That teaches friendship? Amazing!” says Pinkie.
Twilight eyes both Rainbow and Pinkie, quietly asking them to be quiet as she reads on.
Well, not quite out of hoof. It’s just, Twilight has been so busy with running the school as a head mare, while also contending with her royal duties. Add on top that her friends also have busy schedules, particularly Rainbow Dash, with her Wonderbolt shows.
Rainbow’s eyes pop wide open upon hearing that. “Wonderbolts?” The girls, side Twilight, shush her immediately.
Twilight continued, Though their schedules are tight, they still manage, and are able to handle their problems. It’s just, Twilight has spent the last few months behind her desk trying hard to keep things in order while also trying to keep track of her other duties. She’s practically at her breaking point! Which is why me and the others have arranged an intermission with Twilight, suggesting that she takes a well-deserved day off in your world.
“A day off?” says Pinkie excitedly. “Here? With us!?”
We convinced her that she really needs to have this break, otherwise she’ll end up breaking herself. We are aware of your world’s Twilight, but given the circumstances, I hope we can work something out as our Twilight reaaallllyyyy needs to get away, even for just a day. Hope to hear from you back soon, Sunset.
Your friend, Starlight Glimmer.
“Yiiiipppeee,” Pinkie Pie cheers as she jumps about excitedly, “Twilight… I mean, PrincessTwilight’s coming to visit!”
Her joy quickly disperses as she comes to a realization. “Oh! But… we won’t be able to see her ‘cause of our plans.” Her puffy hair suddenly deflates like a popped balloon.
Applejack walks up to Pinkie and places a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. “Cheer up, Pinkie Pie. I’m a mite disappointed too. But we shouldn’t really let it get us down.”
Pinkie’s hair regains some puffiness and a smile returns to the party girl’s face.
“Besides, I don’t think she’ll be able to come over anyway,” Applejack continues, “with all of us busy including Sunset who could possibly be here to keep her company? And also, what about our Twilight? We still need to help her figure out what ta’ do, I mean, it’s not like she could spend tha whole Saturday on tha beach with herself.”
Twilight looks back at the journal, her eyebrows raised as she appears deep in thought. Suddenly, her eyes widen and a huge wide grin spreads across her face.“I’ve got it!” she declares loudly, catching everyone around her by surprise.
“Got what?” asks Rainbow.
“I have the perfect idea that will help the bothof us out,” says Twilight as she begins writing back in the journal.
The girls were left looking quite puzzled as to what their Twilight had planned.
“Phew,just about made it,” says Sunset as she rejoins the group but then immediately takes notice of the uncertain expressions on everyone’s faces.
“Did I miss something?” she asks.
It’s Saturday morning and Twilight is up bright and early, anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the Wondercolt monument while wearing a backpack across her shoulders. It is almost eight o'clock in the morning and as Twilight continuously paces backwards and forwards she is quietly muttering to herself, mentally checking off everything she’s done up until now.
She finally stops right before the center of the mirror as she takes a deep breath and lets out a deep long exhale.
“Now just calm down, Twilight,” she tells herself, “everything’s gonna be alright. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Suddenly a bright white light unexpectedly bursts on the mirror’s surface, startling Twilight.
The mirror shines brightly, so bright in fact that Twilight has to shield her eyes from it, at least momentarily.
She can now feel the presence of someone standing in front of her. As soon as the light finally disperses, Twilight’s eyes widen and her mouth falls open the moment she sees who it is.
In front of her stood a slightly disheveled version of herself, minus the glasses and her hair being long and straight. Plus she was also donning a slightly similar, but still different outfit than hers.
Human Twilight stands dumbfounded and at a loss for words. Princess Twilight just remains silent, unsure of what to say herself.
The two just stare at each other until finally, Human Twilight gives her head a good shake and then lets out a small chuckle.
“Sorry,” she utters before bowing, “welcome back to our world, Your Highness. It’s truly an honor to have you bac—”
“Please,” Princess Twilight interrupts, “you don’t need to be so formal with me. That’s actually the least I would expect from me… literally.”
Human Twilight’s cheeks turn a slight shade of red as she stands back up and giggles. “Right, sorry… let me start over.” She takes a quick breath and continues, “It’s great to see you again, uh, Princess Twilight… I need to be honest though, this whole thing with the two of us… looking the same and all… still feels sorta... weird…”
“I understand, it just seems unreal seeing your own reflection… but without a mirror… but let’s not dwell on it right now. You invited me to join you for a relaxing beach day, right?”
Human Twilight brightens up. “Of course, once I heard from Starlight how overworked you were, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”
Princess Twilight raises an eyebrow. “Opportunity?”
Human Twilight rubs her arm as she looks shyly away. “Ever since I had met you I wondered if, despite looking exactly alike, are there any differences between us? Aside from our hair and eyesight, of course. I knew how busy you were, what with ruling a whole empire and all, but I still hoped that you could visit again.”
A heartfelt smile spread across the princess' face. “Wow, I never realized… although truth be told I also wondered the same thing. But, just as you said I got so many commitments as a princess that I haven’t had much time to come back.”
Human Twilight holds out a hand, a little hesitant, but slowly she places her hand on the princess' shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it, Princess. We’ll work it out so that you will be able to visit more. But for now, let’s focus on today, you did come here to relax after all.”
Princess Twilight smiles brightly at her counterpart’s kind words. But then she notices there's a hint of worry in Human Twilight’s eyes. “Is there something worrying you?”
“Well, now that you ask, there is just one thing that I’m a tad worried about,” she admits, nervously twiddling her forefingers around, “I haven’t thought about how people may react seeing the two of us together.”
Princess Twilight ponders it for a moment. An idea pops into her head.
“When I first came here and met Pinkie Pie, she mentioned that she had seen you before, somewhere in the city. She then asked me if I was your twin sister. On an unrelated note, she even knew who Spike was.”
Human Twilight listens with interest, but still looks unsure. “That’s interesting and all, Princess Twilight… but how does it help our situation?” Human Twilight blinks as it dawns on her, she gently slaps a hand to her forehead. “Ooohhhh, of course. If people see us together they’ll just assume that we’re twin sisters.”
“Exactly,” Princess Twilight affirms. “All we need is to alter our names so that nobody will be none the wiser.”
The two stood with both of their forefingers and thumbs placed firmly under their chins, deep in thought.
“I got it,” Princess Twilight declares, “how about this… we can keep our first names, but we change our last names or rather address ourselves by our last names so that no one gets confused, even us.”
“Great idea,” Human Twilight beams excitedly, “now what name should I use?”
“Actually, you don’t need to change your name.”
Human Twilight scratched her head, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Since I’m the guest in your world, it’s only fitting that you keep your name the way it is and I just change my last name,” Princess Twilight explains.
“Are you sure, Princess? I don’t mind changing my name as well.”
Princess Twilight chuckles. “There’s really no need to have both of us to have completely different names, considering that a lot of people know you.”
Human Twilight blushes as she chuckles as well. “True. Alright, just as long as you’re truly okay with it.”
“Absolutely, in fact, I think I already have something,”
“You do, what is it?” Human Twilight asks excitedly.
“Okay, how’s about… Twilight… ‘Dazzle’!”
A perplexed look crosses Human Twilight’s face, unsure if the princess is kidding or if she is serious.
“Dazzle? Doesn’t that sound, just a little, like the Dazzlings Sunset and the others told me about?” Human Twilight asks.
Princess Twilight chuckles sheepishly, “I never really thought about them, actually. Though now that you mention it, it sorta does... But, that doesn’t matter. It matches with ‘Sparkle’ so it will work with the whole twin sister persona thing.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Human Twilight adjusts her glasses. “So, just to reiterate, if anybody asks who we are, I’ll be referred to as Sparkle and you ‘Dazzle’, right?”
Princess Twilight or rather ‘Dazzle’ gives a confirming nod.
Before either of them can say another word, a sudden loud tooting sound is heard in the distance, quickly approaching them.
“That’s our ride, we better get going. We can continue our talk on the bus,” says Sparkle.
“Right,” ‘Dazzle’ agrees.
Just as the two are about to make their way to the bus, ‘Dazzle’ starts stumbling about, coming ever so close to falling over. Sparkle quickly leans closer to the princess, preparing herself to catch her in case she does topple over.
“Are you alright?” Sparkle asks.
‘Dazzle’ grins sheepishly as her cheeks redden a little. She chuckles. “It’s been so long since I last been here I’m a little out of practice in regards of walking on two legs.”
Sparkle simply smiles back at her Equestrian counterpart and wraps her arm around the princess’.
“Here, just follow my lead and in time it’ll all come back to you,”
‘Dazzle’ just smiles warmly at her ‘twin’. “Thanks, Twilight.”
Step by step, they made their way to the bus stop, making it just in time as the bus pulls up.
There are quite a few other people riding along as well, making Sparkle feel a little awkward. Still she is excited for what the day will bring for both her and the princess.
Author's Note
This was originally planned to be a one-shot but I decided to make it a multi-chapter. The story itself is near completion and it just requires some editing so once parts of the editing are completed I will post a new chapter every so often. The next chapter should be up roughly between three-four weeks depending on how well the editing proceeds, but don't hold me to it. 
I'd like to give Lonely Fanboy48 big thanks for this story and I hope you and everyone enjoy on what's to come. 
