"One thing." As if prompted, the chime that meant my mother had sent a message sent a cringe through me. "Sec."

I swooped my mouse to see the message. "Amazingly, related. Want to meet my mom?"

"Certainly." Twilight reached up her plush arms for a ride.

It was cute. I gently plucked her up into my grasp and made my stiff way out of my room. Why did turning have to hurt half the time? "You call?" I asked as I came down the hallway.

"Yes, did you read..." She trailed off, spotting what was in my arms. She laughed. "Where did you get that? Look at that pony."

I held up Twilight. "I wanted you to meet Twilight."

"Hello, Twilight." She sounded like she was playing along. It struck me a moment after she said that... she was doing that. Twilight wasn't moving.

I gently tapped her. "You can talk around her."

"Are you certain?"

Mother sat up with surprise. "Do you have you phone on you?"

I held out the toy that was also a new friend. "As I said, this is Twilight. Twilight, this is my mom."

"Hello." She didn't wave. She couldn't.

"Very funny. Can you make some tea?"

Right, that was what she had messaged about... "On it..." I carried Twilight with me into the kitchen and parked her on a cutting board. "Sorry."

Twilight inclined her head, able to move with only me in view. "Aren't you worried she'll... hear? She didn't sound very accepting of my... existing, for lack of better words."

"She can barely hear." I got to seting up a pot with water and warming. "If she hears anything, it's just that some talking is happening."

"Did you say something?" came her voice from the next room.

"Just talking to Twilight." I fired finger guns at her, not that she could see me.

"Okay," she laughs out, her attention sliding back to the television without much of a pause.

"I... feel good that you told the truth." She rubbed behind her head lightly. "Tea, she said? Can I try some?"

She sniffed at the container the moment the leaves were exposed. "Smells delightful."

"You're a doll, at least physically." I stroked once down her back. "How can you taste it without just hurting yourself?"

"Point," sigh sighed out. "I want to live again. I like... all the living things."

"Eh." I shrugged. "There are some parts of living that I could do without."

"Don't be like that." She pawed at me with her soft hoof. "You don't seem that sad."

"I am very good at keeping a cheerful face." With the tea created, I wandered out to place it in front of mother to loop back into the kitchen and grabbing some creamer to splash in the tea. "Here you go."

With a little thanks received, I tucked the cream away, grabbed Twilight, and headed back for my room.

Django was back. "Silly dog." I couldn't not pet him a little. "Can't have you around right now." I got him out of the room and closed the door.

"I didn't notice those before." Twilight was looking up at the wall, where two pictures rested among many others. Those two pictures had Twilight. One had an adventurous Twilight among adventuring remainder of the Main Six. The other had the Main Six around the crystal map, looking proper and cute.

"That is me, right?" She pointed at the her at the crystal map. "Uncanny, and yet, inaccurate."

I rubbed my neck, feeling suddenly self-conscious about the colorful pony portraits watching over my room. Maybe having images of your new friend plastered up before you even met her was a bit awkward.

"Heh, yeah that's meant to be you and your palls. I bought those drawings from a convention - guess I always liked having a little piece of Equestria in here."

Twilight approached to inspect her illustrated double closer while I hastened to tidy away some lingering plushies. Having the real pony see herself fictionalized was a bizarre reversal I was still wrapping my head around.

"I can see why you enjoy imagining us if that's the art you humans create. Such vibrant style!" Twilight mused. She indicated to her crystalline throne. "But what are we all doing in this scene?"

"Oh, that's based on the castle you take over ruling Equestria from eventually," I explained. Seeing her puzzled expression, I elaborated sheepishly on supposed future events from the series...including her princess coronation.

Twilight blinked. "A princess? And that's meant to be my throne?" She looked back at the image, stunned. "Goodness, I know I take my studies seriously but I never envisioned myself rising quite that high up!"

"Wait." I checked to be sure. Yep, she had wings, flapping gently as she studied the pictures. "You have wings. You are an alicorn."

"Yes?" She looked over her shoulder at me. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Don't... ponies become alicorns only after they prove their worth?" I rolled my hand lamely in the air, feeling quite silly.

"No?" She turned towards me. "Your Equestria is so similar to mine, and so different at the same time." She spread her wings. "I received these from nopony other than myself. They're a symbol of my mastery over magic arts. Any pony..." She frowned. "Come to think of it, is that what you meant? You made it sound like a rare and unheard of thing."

"It isn't?" The nature of this Twilight's world was becoming more fascinating by the moment. "I'd love to hear about it."

"You are remarkably alright with that." She hopped when I sat down, casually taking my lap as a seat. "I thought you'd be more upset, hearing your fantasy was just a fantasy. Most creatures don't like being told something they beleive is a fabrication."

"It is my job to make fantasies. Finding out they're a fantasy is hardly new." I ruffled over her head gently. "But I do love learning."

I spotted the time. "Oh. What day..." I checked the calender. "Crap."

"Something wrong?" She leaned in around me for a look at my computer, as if it'd reveal the secret.

"I have to run a game." I got the webpage up and reached for my headset. "Which means I'll be busy a while. So you don't die of boredom..." I reached for my table that was usually running a game and flicked it to its homescreen. "You can play with this."

But she didn't. She was far more interested in watching me as I greeted my players and got the game going.

"O&O," she whispered to herself. "The human variation, how fascinating." She clapped her soft hooves together, quite riveted as I spun the tale of adventure for the people that only existed on the computer.

I couldn't help an amused grin as I glanced over to see Twilight utterly enthralled by my humble Pathfinder game. Her shining eyes were glued to the computer screen as she watched my players' avatars navigating the fantasy scenario. The engrossment of her expression as she eavesdropped on our escapades was downright adorable.

During a lull, I leaned over and whispered "Having fun over there?"

Twilight started, pulled from her deep engagement. "Oh tremendously!" she whispered back. "Seeing this collaborative storytelling unfold is remarkable. And the way you adapt elements from our world yet make them your own..." She smiled ear to ear. "You have a real gift, David!"

I flushed at the effusive praise from someone who lived and breathed the literal magical world I was borrowing from. "Aw heh, thanks," I murmured. "That means more coming from someone from a world like that."

Twilight nodded firmly at that. "Well from what I've witnessed, you succeed wonderfully at most of it, even if the specifics are skewed." She pointed at the pictures. "Like those, close, but so far off."

She playfully saluted with a hoof. "Carry on, Dungeon Master! I shall watch your fray with bated breath." With that, she resumed leaning eagerly towards the monitor as I wove merry mayhem for my party, buoyed by my small pony cheerleader.

She cheered when the party got a critical hit and winced when the monsters did. She tried to urge them away from danger she could see, but they couldn't. Silly thing could see everything, having the GMs view of the map. It took a while for her to figure that out, but it didn't stop her from rooting for them go to the 'right' way.

The hours slid by, about three of them, before I was asking each player for who or what got their 'star' for the highlight of the session.

After wishing them all a wonderful day and promising to see them next time, I set the headset aside with a sigh of relief.

"I thought you were a writer."

I perked at Twilight. "I am. I'm a lot of things." I sat up, some of that fatigue fading. "Writer, publisher, storyteller, game master, small business owner... I wear so many hats I don't know how they haven't fallen off already."

Twilight reached up with both hooves as if to check for the hat she didn't have. "I also thought you were sick. Shouldn't you... be not doing half of that?"

I chuckled. "Hey now, I didn't say I was on death's door or anything. Besides, I gotta keep myself busy somehow."

Twilight didn't seem assuaged as she settled back into my lap, peering up at me. "Yes, but that looked rather draining running this big gaming event for three whole hours! Surely such demanding mental exertion is taxing on your health?"

Her plush brow was creased with honest concern. I found it both sweetly endearing yet also nagging. I sighed and rubbed at at the sore part of my lower back.

"Well, it's certainly not easy all the time," I admitted to her. "But, to be honest, I like running those games. I enjoy it. If I didn't also need to make a living, I'd probably stop charging money for them. But, besides that..."

I shrugged, offering a self-deprecating smile. "People have come to rely on me for their weekly adventuring escape. I'd feel worse letting them down because I was tired. Tired is an excuse I don't like using, for writing or running the games."

Twilight's frown softened to something more thoughtful as she tapped her chin. "Hmm, I hadn't considered that angle...you do provide a creative service your players clearly cherish."

She placed her hoof over my hand. "Just try not to overexert yourself too long without rest, alright? Even us princesses and writers need to recharge our magic sometimes..."

Twilight hiked a brow. "Speaking of that... as I just mentioned, I'm not actually a princess."

"Well, then what are you?" I gave her a little pet as I brought up a screen of textual chatter. "Just have to tell me."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle." She put a hoof at her chest. "Librarian, and student of Princess Celestia."

"Her successor?"

Twilight blinked, stunned. "I should imagine not... Just a student, one of many. She collects students like you collect players of your game." She hopped suddenly, standing on my desk over my keyboard. "I am not royalty, nor in line for it. Just a pony that loves books, and magic. I hope that's good enough?"

She looked up and spotted one plush Twilight I had failed to put away. "Is..." She tilted her head left, then right. "Is that me?!"

That plush wasn't nearly as detailed at the moving Twilight. Still, it was Twilight.

Seeing no way to avoid it, I reached up and snatched the little plush, not even half the other Twilight's size. "Twilight, meet Twilight."

Of all the things I expected, the little Twilight responding wasn't very high on the list. "A pleasure to meet you." The little Twilight sounded, well, like Twilight.

The larger Twilight hopped back in shock. "Is that a changeling?!"

Author's Note

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