"Hey, we are almost there. Wake up."

Wha— no, I don't want to...

"What are you doing? Get up already."

Ugh... go away...I moan sleepily, blindly flailing an arm towards the voice to push whoever it is away. I feel my arm brush against something soft.

"Oh, for the love of—."

WHACK!

"Ow! What the heck?!" I stumble blindly away from my attacker, my eyes shooting open. Not a moment later, I hiss and squeeze them shut instinctively as sunlight streaks through the now-open train window and directly into my retinas. "Damn." I shake my head to clear my mind and lift my hand— no, foreleg, to rub my eyes, careful not to whack myself with the hard part. I miss my hands already...

"Hah. I never thought I'd see the day the morning sun was too much for you to bear."

I furrow my brows in confusion. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" After a few seconds, I slowly blink open my eyes just barely catch Luna folding her wing closest to me to her side. "Uh... did you just... whack me with that? What was that for?!"

Luna tilts her head with a bit of a mocking jeer. "And if I did?"

Really? I stare at her bemused. "Geez, what's got you in such a snappy mood?"

Luna rolls her eyes and brushes her way past me, making her way towards the other end of the car where I spot Twilight and Lyra completely out of it, their heads resting on one another's. Aww, sleeping ponies look way more adorable than they ever should. My eyes shift back to Luna, or more specifically, her now-flowing mane and tail. "Your hair is all, uh, wavy again. Does that mean your... magic is back to normal?"

"It would seem so", Luna responds curtly. Her horn flares with a light blue glow that wraps around the pile of our enchanted cloaks sitting to the side. She stares at it silently for a moment before folding both into neat little squares and holding them to her chest with a foreleg. "Twilight. Lyra. On your hooves, we are departing Canterlot and are on the approach to the palace."

As the two unicorns on the other side of the compartment begin to stir, I trot over to one of the train windows and take a proper peek outside at Canterlot.

My jaw drops.

Earlier, I had caught a brief glimpse of the city around the castle when I was up on the balcony of Celestia's room, but only from a distance. The dark of night also enshrouded much of the finer details. Up close and in broad daylight, however, it is... something else, like a fairy tale made real.

Dozens of pristine, marble towers capped with long, pointed spires of gold and purple litter about the city, the blinding light of the low hanging sun glistens across their surfaces. Their height is dwarfed by the many skyscrapers I've seen during trips to Between them lay a network of cobblestone roads spanning the entire region, forming rings radiating from several center points. It's certainly more... urban than Ponyville, but also seems to come from a period of architecture a couple centuries ago. A huge, white stone ramp curls around the edge of the city, elevated slightly above the infrastructure, which seems to be what our train traveling up and along.

I squint my eyes, shielding the upper half of my sight from the glare of the sun, and focus on the little colored dots moving all around. Just like back in Ponyville, a few pegasi occupy the skies. Much like the exits on a highway, some occasionally soar back to the city while others fly up to join the flock. Unlike Ponyville's skies, however, there's much less, and there's a hint of organization based around the city centers, where more seem to come and go from. The roads themselves are a bit more crowded than Ponyville's, occupied by unicorns and... uh, normal ponies. I try to discern more details from the edge of the city closest to the train, but the streets and buildings seem to get smaller and smaller the more I look at them, among them being what looks like a train station.

Wait a minute.

I press my cheek against the cool glass as I watch the towers of Canterlot fade in the distance. "Uh, weren't we supposed to get off there?"

"I believe I just said we are departing the city and are approaching the palace."

I blink. "I... wasn't paying attention." I do my best to ignore the coldness of Luna's glare. "Wasn't that station we just passed?"

"No, that was the Canterlot station. We will wait until we reach the station at the palace itself before departing."

"Oh. We can't just... make our way through the city?" I say hopefully. "Like we did back in Ponyville?"

"No, it would be too cumbersome for the six of us to navigate the city to the palace, even when obscured." Luna leans over and takes a peak behind the window curtains. "The sun has risen, and the day has begun. There are too many ponies wandering about streets now for all four of us to make it through without bumping into somepony and causing a scene. I would rather neither of us be seen walking around just after a significantly delayed sunrise, at least not until the matter addressed to the public. "

Dang... I kind of wanted to explore this... Canterlot. Looks super cool and fancy. I watch longingly as Canterlot's train station shrinks into the distance. "All four of us? What about your guards?" I question, gesturing to the two obnoxiously stoic guard ponies still standing at the other side of the compartment.

Luna rolls her eyes. "They are not necessary company for what we are to discuss, and they have been sworn to secrecy to whatever little information they heard while accompanying us."

I squint my eyes at the two guards. They glance at me, then quickly turn their eyes elsewhere nervously. Eesh, what's their problem? "Whatever you say, I guess. How much of a walk is it from the station to the castle?"

"We will not be walking there." Luna flares her horn, illuminating the compartment with its silvery blue glow. She closes her eyes, as if trying to feel something, then the wavy aura around her horn drops away. "By the time we arrive, my magic should be replenished enough to handle teleporting the four of us. And with the distance considerably shorter, it will be much less of a burden on my mana."

Mana? Isn't that... the word for how much magic you have left in video games and stuff? That concept is a real thing here?

Luna turns to Twilight and Lyra, who had been silently peeking at us from behind the top of their seat. "You two, by my side, please. It will be much less strenuous to teleport us when we are all close together."

The two of them comply, floating their saddlebags on their backs with their own colored auras before trotting beside us. Luna stares at me expectedly, and I stare back in confusion for a bit until my mind properly registers her last sentence. "Oh, alright, alright." I mutter quietly as I stumble out of my seat. I half-expected the rocking motions of the train car to knock me on my ass like it always did when I used to take the train, but surprisingly having four legs does wonders for balance when I'm not consciously thinking about it.

Twilight catches my gaze and quickly shifts hers away nervously. A twinge of guilt seeps in when I recognize her expression, one I'm all too familiar with feeling. It is a look of utter helplessness, when one is trapped in a situation where they know so little, can do so little to help. I hate it, it's something I'd never wish onto anyone, yet here I am being the cause of it. Years of old, back and forth angry shouts begin to bubble from the depths of my memory, paired with the quickening of my heart's pounding, and I shake my head to snap myself back to reality.

Shush you, none of that crap right now, please.

Lyra seems to notice and casts a curious look to me. I hold her gaze, I'm not sure in what ways my feelings are leaking through my facial features, but she seems to pick up on it. Her eyes seem to warm a little, a faint, reassuring smile creeps onto her muzzle. And... reassure me, it does. I feel my breathing and heart rate calm down the more I focus on her gentle, golden eyes, using them as an anchor and letting them pull me back to the present. Once I feel more like myself again, I return a brief, gracious smile. As if it was her plan all along, she gives a subtle nod before turning to Twilight, as if to ask her something.

Just then, the train car slows down around me, and I brace myself a bit to avoid toppling over from the sudden deceleration.

"Your Highness", one of the guard ponies calls out, "we have arrived at the palace station."

The train comes to a complete stop, and my bracing unfortunately sends me careening forward. My vision takes on a light blue tinge as I feel a cool sensation wrap around my upper body, halting my momentum before I can crash into a rather pissed off Luna, gradually pushing me back on all four hooves before dissipating. Did she just catch me with her magic?

"Guards, upon our departure, please report back to the palace barracks and resume your regular duties. If questioned by your fellow guards or any of your superiors, speak nothing of this and report as reinforcing security over the railways. I... altered some reports prior to summoning you two, so everything should check out."

"Yes, your Highness."

Luna turns back to the three of us. "Now then, please keep your movements to a minimal to make this easier on me." The glow around Luna's horn returns full force, and I narrow my eyes to avoid getting blinded. I fight every instinct in my body screaming at me to run away, recalling all the dangers I've come to associate with her horn the brighter it gets. I cast a look to Lyra and notice her and Twilight have their eyes shut. I shrug internally and squeeze mine shut in kind. I feel the fur across my body begin to stand on end as I the sounds of Luna's grows louder.

I'm about to get teleported. I'm actually about to travel across the fabric of space and time, just like that! Oh my gosh oh my gosh! Is it gonna be like in the movies, where you're just here one moment and there the next? Or will there be some sort of delay, like in Stargate where everything was super trippy and took a bit of time? Mmm well that was a stupid far teleport, this isn't really that far. Wait, I'm not going to end up half inside a wall or something, right? I mean, Lyra said I already did it when I... blew up her living room a little, but I don't even remember any of that. Maybe it'll—

The ground drops. At the same time, the sky falls up. There is no up, no down, no left or right. I simply am. The world collapses around and into me, turning inside out in every direction. It feels like I'm hurtling somewhere, yet I am still. I want to see it, I want to know what's happening arou—

Not even a second later, before I have the chance to peek my eyes open, my muzzle smacks hard against cold, polished marble, a quite familiar sensation to this morning's... experience. I cry out in pain and bring a foreleg up to massage it, careful to not punch myself in the face with my own hooves like I did the first time.

"Princess Celestia! Are you okay?"

I feel a pair of hooves wrap gently around my shoulders and help raise my head off the ground. I scramble around a bit to sit properly on my haunches and peek my eyes open. Twilight's wide, violet eyes, filled with worry, meet my own in the dim light, from about a foot away. I shake my head to clear away the stars and focus on her, the way she looks at me. No, not at me, at... this, this body.

She doesn't know yet. She doesn't know it's me. Or, she doesn't know that I'm... not... me?

I sigh and turn my gaze down, unable to meet hers for too long. "Sorry..."

"What?! Princess, there's nothing to be sorry about, you're just still a bit weak after everything with Discord and—"

"No", I interrupt her. "No, that's... not what I mean."

"Twilight..." Lyra whispers pleadingly from somewhere behind Twilight, hidden behind her concerned face. "I really think you should wait unti—"

"No!" Twilight cries out, seemingly in desperation. "I want to know what's going on! Princess, I'm your student, your friend, you can talk to me!"

"Twi—" I try to stutter out, my mind racing faster than I ever want it to. "Twili—"

"Maybe I can help somehow. Why'd you take so much longer to raise the sun and how'd you end up all the way in Ponyville? In... Lyra's house of all places! And why are you acting so weird?! Nopony's telling me anything, and I couldn't find a single book in my library that talks about something like this happening!"

"Twilight, I—"

"Did the Elements of Harmony fail? Did Discord break free again? Or are the Elements not working like they should? Or is there some sickness that you—"

"Twilight!"

Twilight gasps, stumbling awkwardly away from me. I blink in surprise, slowly closing my muzzle.

Did I... do that? That was way louder than I was trying to be, I just wanted to stop her rambling so I could get a word in!

With Twilight more out of my face finally, I let my eyes dart around my surroundings and take in whatever I can in the dim lighting. The marble that was previously invading my muzzle's personal space is, unlike the near pure white of Celestia's room, is a dark grey littered with faint sparkles, as if the floor were a sea of glittering stars. The distant walls also appear to be similarly composed, but the whole rooms appears so unnaturally blanketed in darkness, I can barely make out any other details. It reminds me of a couple video games I played as a child, where it is intentionally programmed so you can only see up to a certain distance away. Everything beyond is enshrouded in fog or shadows, usually to reduce the load on the GPU and make the game run better.

This looks so surreal to witness in person though... it's so wrong on how light should work, but hey, this place has flying, talking ponies that can make things float, what do I know at this point, huh?

My eyes shift back to Twilight, still staring at me in shock and almost... hurt. Her eyes flicker between each of my own, as if trying to get some sort of read on me. Behind her stands Lyra and Luna. The latter shares Twilight's expression, but more out of surprise, like I'd just tossed a pie at her unexpectedly.

Luna though, glares at me with a mix of expectation and impatience, as if to say "You know what you have to say, so say it. I don't have all day." She catches my gaze and raises an eyebrow.

Welp. I did it once, I can do it again... I guess.

I breathe out slowly, trying to plan my words ahead for the shit storm that's about to come.

"I'm... not your princess." I let out after what feels like forever.

Twilight's entire expression collapses into confusion. "Wait, what? What are you talking about, you—" Her eyes widen and a bright violet aura flares around her horn. "I might have read something about something like this. You're a changeling, aren't you?!"

HUH?!

The sudden light in my almost-darkness-adjusted eyes blinds me and I scoot backwards on the marble floor. "A what?! No! I—"

"What did you do to my— what did you do to the princess?!" Twilight hisses, her face contorts into a scowl, but as she takes step towards me, Luna stops her with a hoof on her shoulder. She whips her head back, her expression softening when she sees who it is. "Princess Luna?! What are you—"

"I'm afraid the situation is far more... complicated than that, dear Twilight. But I assure you, there is no changeling before us. Perhaps we should let her explain first?"

How the fuck do you even know how complicated this is, I never got to tell you anything!

Twilight stares into Luna's eyes for a moment before closing her own and letting out a defeated sigh. "I... alright, Princess Luna." The glow around her horn dissipates and she turns back to me, now almost perfectly mirroring Luna's expression. "Well?"

I wince slightly at the now cold tone in her voice, but I suppose it's probably deserved. "Well... first off, I'm not a 'her'. I'm a guy."

"What." All three of them freeze.

"Uh, you never mentioned that to me earlier, Sam." Lyra states rather questioningly.

"I, uh, forgot?"

"'Sam'? Who the hay is 'Sam'?" Twilight questions impatiently, turning her attention to Lyra. "And how do you know that?"

Uh oh.

Lyra backs up slightly. "She's the— I mean, he's the one who crashed into my house this morning! I didn't want anything to do with this at first, really! I was just trying to take care of what seemed to be Princess Celestia. She looked all banged up, I had no idea what was going on, but I figured she was in some sort of trouble. Later on, I kinda figured out something was wrong and he told me who he was."

"You knew about all this?!" Twilight gapes. "So that's why she said she 'told you everything' back at your house! Why didn't you tell me anything, this feels like something really important to ment—"

Without shifting her look, Lyra whips a hoof to point to the side right at Luna. "She told me not to say anything!"

Twilight turns to Luna, but one look at her expression silences whatever she wanted to say. "Fine." She turns back to me, at first angrily, but slowly morphing into curiosity. "So... your name is... Sam?"

I nod. "Yep, that's me. And again, I'm a dude, by the way. Just wanna get that out there, the name's a bit androgynous."

Twilight's ears fold against the sides of her head. "Uh, right, sorry. I've never heard than name anywhere in Equestria before..." She turns back towards Luna, lowering her voice to a whisper, though not quiet enough for me to not overhear. "Are you sure this isn't just a changeling? With... memory problems?"

Luna shakes her head. "During my encounter with it— him, in the Canterlot archives, I cast a spell to dispel any enchantments or illusions around me. While none of the changeling hives have been notably active recently, a few of them caused rather large amounts of geopolitical tension centuries ago when it was just my sister ruling over Equestria. A rogue changeling certainly would not be unexpected in this scenario.

"However, that spell is among the more powerful counter-enchantments in existence; it would take somepony stronger than me to best it. None of the hives possess a queen powerful enough to resist it, let alone any of their drones. And even then, it would still reveal the presence of such an illusion should it not dispel it. There were no illusions cast around my sister."

"Oh..." Twilight blinks, returning her gaze to me. "So, you're not a changeling?"

"I— she just told you I'm not! I don't even know what that is!" Though based on that name, I could get it on the first guess...

"There is a little more to that, Twilight", Luna continues. "In my... blinded rage, I attacked him. Several times. All I saw was a deceiver in my sister's place, and I had no idea if she was okay or not. Before I could properly restrain him, he teleported away, probably out of panic or instinct." Luna closes her eyes, taking a deep breath in and holding it for quite a while before releasing it. A gentle, blue glow illuminates around her horn.

"I have known my sister my entire life, for several centuries. I know her magic signature as much as my own. And as I am certain you have learned from your many years under my sister's tutelage, it is impossible to duplicate another creature's magic signature, no matter what. It is tied to who they are, a culmination of the life, their experiences, their hopes and dreams, their fears and worries, and is imbued all throughout their body as far as we have ever understood it. Even if you were to somehow make a perfect mirror duplicate of a creature, the new clone would have its own magic signature, similar but a far cry from the original. The only exception are identical twins, whose signature will begin to deviate mere moments after birth.

"When he teleported, there was no mistake. That was my sister's magic signature I felt." She turns to look at me. "It's more than just her magic that you have. You have her signature. By all logic of our understanding of magic signatures, you are either truly my sister, or this is her body."

...So I guess that settles that then. This isn't just some clone of Celestia's body, this is the real deal. I'm in the real Celestia's body...

"He has her magic signature?" Twilight gapes at me in awe. "You have Celestia's magic signature, but... you're not her? That- that doesn't make any sense, how is that possible?" She peers closer, leaning uncomfortably close. "Maybe you really are her... with memory problems?"

"I... literally have no idea. I didn't know magic was real until just this morning. I don't even know how I got in this mess! If you could find some way to fix this, please, I'm begging you to. And no, I know I'm not actually Celestia with memory loss cause I've got a whole eighteen years worth of memories still in my head from all the way back home."

Luna steps forward, interrupting Twilight before she could get another question out. "Back home, you say? Pray tell, where might that be? Is it within the borders of Equestria, or beyond them?"

I blink as my mind registers what they're asking. They want to know where I'm from, huh? I spare a glance at Lyra. To my surprise, she bears the most shit-eating grin imaginable on her muzzle. Oh right, I told you most of that already, didn't I? You just want to see their reaction now, huh? I narrow my eyes at her. She picks up immediately and, as if reading my mind, grins even wider. Dammit, Lyra.

I close my eyes and breathe in as much as I can. "I think I'm from a bit further than your borders... I'm a human, from Earth. I'm from a different world, maybe a different galaxy, I don't know! I don't remember how I ended up here, I was supposed to have class when I woke up, not appear in... some princess pony's body all the way God knows where! All I want is to go home, I don't want to be here, I didn't ask to be here, just... ah..."

I pant a bit from the little rant, my eyes flickering between all of theirs, looking for some sort of reaction.

Eventually, Luna cocks her head curiously. "...God?"

Author's Note

I'm so tired :c
Sorry for the hilariously long delay, my energy dropped hard for unrelated reasons after posting the last chapter. But I know what I'm doing a little better now.