Equestria Girls (Nine Elements version): Book 1: Through the Mirror

by BlueBioWolf

Rating: mature
Tags: Violence, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Human, Twilight Sparkle, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Comedy, Adventure, Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Main 7 (EqG), Profanity
Length: 26635

Part 1 of the Nine Elements take on the Equestria Girls movie.

After becoming a Princess, Twilight Sparkle's crown is stolen and taken to a new world. There, she encounters the Sunset Shimmer she heard so much about, but, things aren't what they seem.

My Little Pony and Equestria Girls (C) Hasbro.

Published 2024-10-03 01:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-20 17:01:34 UTC

Chapter 1: The Princess Summit, The Magical Earth Mare, and The Brother

Equestria Girls (Nine Elements version): Book 1: Through the Mirror

Written by Brandon Nell, Rachael Ravens, and Blake Hawkins

Chapter 1: The Princess Summit, The Magical Earth Mare, and The Brother

The castle of the Crystal Empire sparkled brilliantly in the midday sun. Ponies pranced around the kingdom, running their daily errands in the market or playing outside in the gorgeous weather. In fact, everypony was so busy that they didn’t notice that seven visitors from afar had just arrived through the front gate. It was six ponies and one small dragon, to be exact. One of them was the recently crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle, who had turned 19 years old eighteen days prior. Accompanying her were her closest friends and her adopted dragon son, Spike. This had been their third time visiting the Crystal Empire up until that point, but, this time, it wasn’t for a reason that involved them saving anypony or serving as assistants. Instead, Twilight was called here for an important Princess summit; her first one to be exact. Naturally, her friends insisted on coming to support her (and, in Pinkie’s case, sample a few Crystal berry tarts and, in Rainbow’s case, check out the Equestria Games stadium if there was time). Spike felt a bit hesitant going after the experience of being swarmed by fans the last time he was there, but, he took comfort in knowing his friends and adopted mother would keep the more obsessive fans from getting too close. It was at that point that Applejack spoke up.

“Ah bet yer excited ‘bout yer first Princess summit, Twi,” she said.

“I am,” Twilight admitted. “But, at the same time, I’m also nervous.”

“You’re nervicited~” Pinkie surmised. “It’s like you want to jump up and down and yell, ‘Yay, me!’” She happily jumped around until suddenly she stopped and curled into a ball. “But, at the same time, you also want to crawl into a teeny tiny ball and hide at the same time~!” She got out of her position and gave Twilight a comforting hug. “We’ve all been there, don’t worry.”

Fluttershy, who had floated into the air for a moment to stretch her pale yellow wings, landed gracefully on the ground. “I’m there almost every day,” she agreed in her soft voice.

Applejack was about to comfort Twilight more when all of a sudden, Rarity got closer to their recently christened friend.

“If you’ll pardon me,” Rarity said. “I couldn’t help but notice you’re not wearing your crown. You haven’t left it home, have you?”

“No,” Twilight answered. “It’s in my saddlebag.”

“Ah, thank goodness,” Rarity said. “With you attending a princess summit, it might be important to have it on you. Though, I must admit, if I was to be a princess and have a crown as lovely as yours, I would never take it off. Why, I’d even sleep in it.”

“I tried that,” Twilight said. “When I woke up, it was bent out of shape.”

“But, since it’s not sticky from soap suds,” Spike said. “I know for a fact that she hasn’t worn it while bathing.”

As soon as Twilight and her friends entered the foyer of the Crystal Castle, her nerves began to melt away like ice cream on a warm summer day. The Empire was starting to feel a little more like a home away from home to her. Twilight attempted to hold her head high in order to give off an air of confidence to anypony who might be watching, but the sound of royal trumpets suddenly blared through the castle. Twilight was startled by the loud racket and stumbled. Unfortunately, being a princess didn’t automatically make a pony graceful.

“Okay, guys,” Flash Sentry said. “Easy with the trumpets.” He helped Twilight up after she bumped into him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Twilight said with a blush. “But, what are you doing here?”

“I’m in charge of a Canterlot Guard envoy transporting something here,” Flash explained.

“Ah, that’s good,” Twilight smiled.

“Twilight! Spike!” Cadance said, approaching her sister-in-law and her nephew-in-law. “It’s so good to see you and your friends here again.”

“Likewise,” Spike said. Then, his curiosity took over. “Flash, what exactly were you transporting here?”

“Something called the Crystal Mirror,” Flash explained. “Though, we also brought an unexpected passenger.”

“Who?” Spike asked.

“Princess Cadance,” Flash asked. “Permission to show them the Crystal Mirror?”

“Permission granted,” Cadance nodded.

Flash led the group to a room along a corridor. In that room stood what appeared to be an ordinary standing mirror with a horseshoe-shaped rim lined with pink gems. Its standing base is also lined with horseshoes and attached to the top is a smaller window with a depiction of a pony inside. Near it stood a light greenish gray earth pony mare with grayish tangelo eyes, a long, tousled mane and tail of moderate aquamarine, and a Cutie Mark depicting a wilting flower in a cracked terracotta flower pot.

“Who's she?” Spike asked.

His voice startled the earth pony mare, who turned around to face him and the other Guardians of Harmony. She then started awkwardly getting herself decent before speaking up. “Uh, my Wallflower is name Blush,” she said before realizing her mistake and shaking her head. “I mean my Blush is Wallflower name.” Once again, she realized she made a mistake. “I mean my name is Wallflower Blush.” The mare was so embarrassed that she sat on her flank and covered her face with her forehooves. “Oh, I’m so terrible at introductions without Sunset.”*

“I think I know how you feel,” Fluttershy said comfortingly. “But, it’s nice to meet you, Wallflower Blush. If I may ask, what are you doing here?”

“Wait,” said Rainbow. “Did she just say, ‘Sunset?’ As in, Sunset Shimmer?”

“Yes,” Wallflower explained. “She was my best friend in magic school.”

This response left all in the room confused.

“What’s an earth pony doing at a magic school?” Rainbow asked. “Earth ponies can’t use magic like unicorns unless they’re Crystal Ponies, which you clearly aren’t.”

Wallflower noticed a potted plant close by. “See that plant over there?”

The others looked where she pointed. “What about it?” Pinkie asked.

“Watch,” Wallflower simply said before walking to the plant. She pointed a forehoof at it and focused hard. The forehoof she held out glowed with a lime green aura. The plant shuddered a bit when it suddenly grew into a 20-hoof-tall palm tree before the very eyes of all present. So fast was its growth that it hit Wallflower’s body and knocked her onto her back. “Ow.”**

The collective jaws of Flash Sentry and the Guardians of Harmony went slack and their eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. They’d never seen such a thing before.

“That was amazing!” Twilight exclaimed with her and Applejack helping the magically-gifted Earth mare get up.

“Y-you aren’t going to make fun of me?” Wallflower asked, surprised.

“Make fun of you?” Rainbow asked. “We don’t even know how you did that! You’re a non-Crystal Earth pony! Last I checked, something like this shouldn’t even be possible! How were you able to do that?!”

“Well, to tell you the truth,” Wallflower admitted. “I’m only half-earth pony.”

“Half?!” the others all exclaimed.

“Yes,” Wallflower explained. “My mother was an earth pony with some unicorn heritage while my father was a unicorn with earth pony heritage.”

“That is truly remarkable,” Rarity smiled.

“You’re the first ones outside my parents and Sunset to think so,” Wallflower said. “Others who saw me do it called me a freak. An unnatural abomination.”

“Trust us,” Spike said. “You’re no freak. You just have a unique gift.”

“That’s what Sunset said to me,” Wallflower said as tears welled up. “She saw my powers and even afterwards, she treated me like… like an equal.”

Spike and the ponies comforted her. “I know what it’s like to be considered a freak,” Spike said. “I wouldn’t wish that on any other living thing.”

“Thank you,” Wallflower sniffled. “But, you don’t seem like a freak to me. And I can tell right away that you don’t have a bad bone in your body.”

“Thank you,” Spike said.

“Anyway,” Applejack said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Ya said ya were friends with Sunset Shimmer.”

Wallflower nodded. “I know what became of her, too, but, she swore me to secrecy.”

“Understood,” Pinkie said, knowing the importance of keeping secrets. “We won’t press you about it anymore.”

“We better head back for the summit,” Spike said.

“Oh, dear,” Fluttershy said. “I almost forgot about that. It was still nice meeting you, Wallflower.”

The group made their way back just as Princess Celestia arrived.

“Good evening, all,” Princess Celestia said. “We have much to discuss.” She then noticed that the Guardians looked a bit tired. “But, it can wait until tomorrow. You all appear tired from your journey.”

The Guardians nodded in agreement.

“I have spare rooms for you all to sleep in,” Princess Cadance said. “And I have guards to escort you there.”

The Guardians were escorted to their rooms. Along the way, they spotted a unicorn stallion with a coat of brilliant gamboge with light apple greenish gray spots, a mane, tail, and beard of vivid and brilliant vermilion, and eyes in a gradient of dark cornflower blue to moderate cyan wearing glasses and a star-covered cloak that hid his Cutie Mark.

“Oh,” said the stallion timidly, adjusting his glasses. “Good evening.”

“Who are you?” Pinkie asked.

“I’m Sunburst,” the stallion answered. “I’m looking for my older sister, Sunset Shimmer.”

“That’s the second pony we’ve talked to today that knew of her personally,” Rarity said.

“Two and a half years ago,” Sunburst explained. “I went to Canterlot to visit my sister only to learn she wasn’t there and I’ve been looking for her ever since.”

“We were just talkin’ ta somepony who was very close ta her,” Applejack explained. “N’ she knows where yer sister is, but, she promised ta keep it secret.”

“I don’t suppose either of you tried pressing the subject?” Sunburst asked.

“Are you kidding?” Pinkie asked sternly. “Revealing a secret could break a friend’s trust. And breaking a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose a friend… forever!”

“Is she always this creepy?” Sunburst asked uneasily.

“She has her moments,” Rainbow admitted.

“Regardless,” Sunburst asserted. “As her brother, I feel I should be entitled to know where she is. I’ve been traveling all over Equestria trying to find her.”

“I recommend that you talk to Wallflower Blush,” Twilight said after giving the situation some thought. “Given that there’s common ground between the two of you, perhaps you can comfort one another.”

“I hope so,” Sunburst said. “I’ve traveled so long, I grew a beard. And I’m only 17!”

“Ah guess puberty starts earlier n’ earlier every year,” Applejack observed.

“Well,” Spike said. “It was nice meeting you, Sunburst, but, we’re going to turn in for the night. Make sure you get some rest as well, alright?”

“I make no promises,” Sunburst said.

While the Guardians headed away, they didn’t notice that somepony was nearby. Somepony who was hiding in the shadows and watching their every move. Somepony who wanted to remain hidden.

In Twilight and Spike’s shared room, Twilight was unpacking. She took her crown out of her saddlebag and placed it on her vanity. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Spike was alerted to this.

“What’s wrong, Mom?” he asked.

“I’m… worried,” Twilight admitted.

“Worried about what?” Spike asked. “Maybe I can help.”

“Princess Cadance was given the Crystal Empire to rule over,” Twilight explained.

“Didn’t Princess Celestia explain that you wouldn’t be given a kingdom when you first got your wings?” Spike asked.

“She said I could stay in Ponyville if I desired,” Twilight said. “But, what if that kingdom ends up being in Ponyville?”

“I mean,” Spike said. “It could work considering Ponyville is our home now. You’ll be able to be with all of your friends there.”

“But,” Twilight continued. “It just wouldn’t feel right. Just because I have these wings and this crown, it doesn’t automatically mean that I’m a good leader. You’ve been the voice of reason more often than I have.”

“And that’s a result of how you raised me,” Spike said. “I can understand what you’re worried about, though. Maybe Princess Celestia has those answers for you during the summit tomorrow. You should let her know about what you’re feeling. She can’t help if she doesn’t know there’s a problem.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “You’re right, Spike,” she smiled. “Thank you for listening. I’m going to try and get some sleep. Maybe I’ll feel better after a good night’s rest.”

“Uh, mom,” Spike asked. “Since it’s technically the first day of winter…”

“Climb on in, Spike,” Twilight said, offering a spot next to her on the bed. Spike gratefully took the spot and got comfy in Twilight’s embrace.

“Mom?” Spike asked as his voice was muffled against her barrel. “Do you think I’m getting too old for this?”

“You can get too old for a lot of things,” Twilight said. “But, you’ll never be too old for receiving love from me.”

“Aww~” Spike said. Twilight could feel his smile. “Thank you. Goodnight, Mom.”

“Goodnight, Spike,” Twilight said softly.

While Spike slept comfortably, Twilight found sleeping with her wings difficult despite having them for barely a month.

One of these days, Twilight thought to herself. I’m going to get used to these wings.

As she twisted around in her bed, Twilight made a mental note to discuss optimal wing-sleeping positions with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in the morning. Finally, she found a good spot. That’s better, she thought, closing her eyes at last. Sproing! Suddenly, her left wing popped out of the covers. Twilight sighed heavily. Apparently, there were a lot of things about her new life that were going to take some getting used to—summits, wings, and crowns were only the start. But, hey, at least she didn’t have to sleep in her crown.

Author's Note

Here's the first chapter of the Nine Elements adaptation of Equestria Girls. Now, like the Oz crossover, this story doesn't have a weekly schedule and will have a new chapter the day after it's completed.

*Establishing character moment for Wallflower.

**Try and guess the Disney movie reference.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 8: Susan Comes After Twilight

A little while later, Twilight and Spike were across campus, walking outside in the sunshine and trying to figure out their next move. Suddenly Twilight was pulled into a shaded area of the school and found herself face-to-face with Susan.

“Can’t believe I didn’t recognize you earlier,” Susan smirked. “I got to commend you for having the balls to come here after I stole the crown.”

“How did you figure it out?” Twilight asked.

“I saw your piss-poor handwriting on the ballots,” Susan said. “I recognized it from my quote-unquote ‘twin sister’ the first day she came to this world. So, I put two and two together and realized that you’re pissing me off here.”

“Either way,” Twilight said. “The crown belongs to me!”

“You and your ‘dog’ being here is just a minor setback,” Susan said in a smart-alecky manner. “This school is my neck of the woods. You don’t know the first thing about this world. I was born and raised in this world while that Sally you heard about has been here for the better part of three damn years. With her being a pathetic little sad sack, she was so easy to manipulate. You? You haven’t even been here a full day.”

“If you already rule this school,” Twilight asked. “Why do you need my crown?”

“Answer me this,” Susan said. “What happens when you bring a magical element into an alternate world?” She gave Twilight a chance to answer, but, the purple girl couldn’t respond. “Seriously? Even you don’t know? Heh, and I thought you were supposed to be hot sh*t!”

“How do you even know it’s a magical element?” Spike asked.

“Well,” Susan answered. “That sad sack told me about your world while I taught her about this world so she’d be less likely to f*ck up. One thing she told me about were these things called the Elements of Harmony. Figured the one you had would look better on me.”

“What?” Twilight asked. “How did she know about the Elements of Harmony?”

Susan shrugged. “I don’t know, some bullsh*t about reading a fairytale, taking it at face value, and trying to make new elements.”

“Huh,” Spike whispered to Twilight. “Guess Sunset is a lot like you.”

“Except I haven’t tried to make new elements,” Twilight whispered back. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“I’ve seen this Sunset work,” Susan said. “She’s managed to make magical potions that aren’t snake oil bullsh*t.” She then lifted part of her skirt up to show more of her right leg. “I once got a snake bite right on my thigh. A topical potion fixed that and removed the venom along with any evidence the damn thing bit me in the first place.”

“I see,” Twilight said. “Anyway, do you know where Sunset is now?”

Susan dropped her skirt and laughed. “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re trying to do. You find Sunset and she f*cks up my plans by bringing her five bitches back together.”

Spike growled at Susan. However, the bad girl wasn’t intimidated.

“That the best you can do, pipsqueak?” she taunted. “My stomach growls better than you. And besides that, you should stay out of trouble. You don’t want to be taken away, do you?”

At the thought of such a thing, Spike subsided.

“Twilight, let me give you some advice,” Susan said as she was about to walk away. “If you want to be a princess here, you’re going to have to work your ass off. But, it wouldn’t matter anyway. I’ll always be better than you in this world. Just look at you. You can barely walk and you’re sh*t at handwriting. So, I suggest you go back home and leave me to run things the way things are supposed to be.” With that, she confidently strutted away, leaving Twilight and Spike under a dimmed fluorescent light. Susan then made it to her two lackeys once out of Twilight’s earshot. “Follow that bitch Twilight. Otherwise, your brother’s grades’ll drop like flies.”

“You got it, Susan,” Skip saluted.

“We won’t let you down, ma’am,” Sheldon saluted.

“Make sure to bring me sh*t I can use against her,” Susan ordered. “Just like the last bitch who tried to run against me during the Spring Fling.”

“I still find it weird that you roped us into that,” Skip said. “We weren’t even freshmen at this school back then.”

Susan was beginning to lose her patience. “Do what I tell you or I’ll tear off your d*cks and shove them up your a**holes!”

The two boys yelped. “We’re going, we’re going!” And they scrambled off to find Twilight and Spike. In their haste, they kept tripping over each other.

A short time later, Twilight walked up to a vending machine. It had been some time since she had eaten lunch, so when Twilight saw there was food inside, she tried to figure out how to get some out. Considering she wasn't familiar with this machinery, she found difficulties maneuvering it. She pressed her hand against the plexiglass, she tried pushing it, and she even had the idea to try bucking the plexiglass to break it. But, as she was about to kick it, someone walked up to Twilight. This was an oddly familiar girl with blue skin, silvery hair, a dark blue jacket, a purple mini skirt with a magic wand on the side, and blue, purple, and golden yellow shoes. Twilight could tell this was this world’s version of Trixie Lulamoon.

“Excuse me,” she said. “I just need to get in there for some peanut butter crackers.”

Twilight, embarrassed, moved out of Trixie’s way. Trixie then inserted some money into the vending machine and got her snack from the bottom.

“Thank you,” she said politely. She then walked off.

Twilight realized she didn’t bring any money with her. She didn’t notice the bird from earlier scooping up some coins from atop the lockers with her talons and quickly dropping them near her while flying over to the other side with nobody noticing.

“Huh?” Twilight asked in confusion, hearing the metal clinking. She looked down and saw the coins on the floor. She then cautiously picked them up. “Um… whomever left these, thank you.” She then inserted the coins into the machine and pressed the same combination of buttons she saw the human Trixie use. A package of peanut butter crackers was pushed off and landed on the bottom of the vending machine. Twilight then pulled it out. She then took Spike somewhere nobody else could hear them. “Well, Susan was right about one thing, Spike.”

“What’s that?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know this world very well,” Twilight said. “If I’m going to have any chance of beating her, I need to learn more about this world’s society. But, there’s a problem right there. Sunset’s been here longer than the both of us and we don’t know where she is. Meanwhile, Susan’s been here her whole life and asking her is out of the question.”

“Well, you had,” Spike said. “And she certainly didn’t tell you then.”

“True,” Twilight said. “Hmm, so I’ll have to find out other ways to learn about this school and this world. With this being a school, I have no doubts that there would also be a library.”

“Maybe that map Fauna gave can help,” Spike suggested.

Twilight looked at the map after wiping off some excess salt from the cracker. Sure enough, she was able to find it.

“Going straight to the library will draw much less attention than standing around and just observing these humans,” Twilight said.*

So, she walked inside. Unbeknownst to her, just inside, hiding behind some potted plants, Skip and Sheldon were hiding. They had mischievous smiles on their faces.

“Got your phone?” Skip asked in a whisper.

“Never go anywhere without it,” Sheldon answered.

Neither knew that the bird was listening. The bird wanted to intervene, but, knew that doing so could give her away.

Twilight’s breath was taken away by what she saw. A tall, domed ceiling arched over the circular room. Hundreds of books were stacked on shelves that stretched up two floors high. A golden bust of a Wondercolt shone in the center of a workstation that was surrounded by black square things. They had flat boards full of buttons in front of them. Twilight had no idea what they were even for. Some sort of musical instrument, perhaps? She then talked to a passing librarian, bearing a remarkable resemblance to Cheerilee from Equestria.

“Excuse me,” Twilight said. “But, what does this thing do?”

The librarian looked visibly confused. “You’ve never seen a computer before?”

“No,” Twilight admitted.

“Well,” the librarian said. “Computers are one of the most helpful tools known to mankind. You can search the internet, play games, or even send information across great distances in the blink of an eye.”

“That sounds incredible,” Twilight said. “Thank you.” She took a seat. “So, how does it work?”

“Well,” the librarian said patiently while pointing things out. “You start by taking the mouse and gently moving it across the mouse pad. On the screen, you’ll see a little arrow. It’s called a cursor. And if you press your finger here, that will give the cursor a selection.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said. She slowly moved the mouse to see the cursor. “So, how can I make it select something for research?”

“Typically,” the librarian said while pointing to the internet icon. “I would go to the web browser, which you can do by going here and then clicking on that. This opens a window on-screen including a search engine. Then, you type in what you want to search for, then press enter, and it will take you to the search results page.”

“Is the typing what this thing next to the mouse is for?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, that’s right,” the librarian smiled. “It’s called the keyboard.”

“So, it works kind of like a type-writer?” Twilight asked.

“Something along those lines, yes,” the librarian answered. “I’m surprised someone as young as you knows about them. They’ve been obsolete for decades.”

“We use them a lot back home,” Twilight said. “I think I can figure things out from here, but, you’ve been so helpful and I appreciate it.” She then proceeded to try typing on the computer keyboard… with her fingers curled up like hooves, resulting in a big jumble of letters appearing in the search bar. Skip and Sheldon, watching and recording from afar, chuckled quietly to themselves. Suddenly, there was loud music playing. This caught the librarian’s attention as she saw three freshman girls dancing to the music. The first girl was a yellow skinned girl with red hair adorned in a pink bow, wore a green blouse, blue jeans, and yellow galoshes. The second girl was an alabaster skinned girl with long pink and purple curly hair adorned with a magenta headband, a magenta short sleeved sweater over a light pink striped shirt, a long yellow skirt, and magenta boots. The third had orange skin, short mulberry hair, a black short sleeved hoodie, dark green shorts, and black boots. The librarian cleared her throat, catching the trio’s attention as they paused the video.

“Blossom Alice Apple, Susie Belle Germaine, and Scottie Louise Peters,” the librarian scolded each of them in the order listed in the descriptive paragraph. “I’ve told you three that school computers are not for YouTube videos unless they have educational value.”

“But, this does have educational value,” Susie Belle protested. “We’re just seeing how many hits our new music video has gotten and isn’t gathering research on views important?”

“If you want that kind of information,” the librarian said. “You’ll have to get it back home.”

“It’s just as well,” Blossom said in a noticeable southern accent. “The comments we’ve been gettin’ ‘bout our song have been pretty dang awful. ‘Epic fail.’ ‘Funniest thing ah’ve ever seen’?!”

“We weren’t even trying to be funny,” Scottie said.

“I know what you mean,” Susie Belle said. “We still don’t know what we’re going to do after high school, career wise.”

“I suggest you try being more patient getting your Cutie Marks,” Twilight said.

The three freshmen heard Twilight’s suggestion. “Cutie Marks?” they asked.

“You know, a mark on your flank that symbolizes your special talent?” Twilight quizzically explained.

“That sounds more like a butt tattoo,” Scottie said. “Why get them to represent your talent if you’re not supposed to show your butt in public? Seems kind of pointless.”

“Although,” Blossom said. “Ah am startin’ ta think maybe we can get jobs as tattoo artists after we graduate!”

“Well, we have like four years until we graduate at 18,” Susie Belle said. “Though, we can sharpen our art skills now.”

“Quick!” Scottie said. “To the art room!”

Giggling excitedly, the three headed out of the library.

“I wouldn’t advise such discussions in a public place,” the librarian said to Twilight. “Discussing one’s rear end is considered rude.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized. “I didn’t know. I won’t do it again.”

That evening, after making sure to stay hidden as the library closed, Twilight and Spike organized some books into a makeshift bed.

“Sorry it’s not the most ideal sleeping place, Mom,” Spike said gently. “But, it doesn’t seem like anybody comes up here.”

“I appreciate the effort all the same, Spike,” Twilight said. “I had a lot of research to do.”

“Speaking of which,” Spike said. “Anything in particular you found out?”

Twilight pulled out a book with CHS WONDERCOLTS written on the front cover. “I found this,” Twilight said. “It’s called a ‘yearbook.’ It holds a record of all of the students and the events during a particular school year.” She then opens the yearbook to a page called, “Freshman Fair.” On the page is a picture of six particular students. “Look, Spike. There’s Ashleigh, Roxy, Fauna, Pinkie, and I’m going to be the girl on the far right is this world’s Rarity, though her name seems to be Rachael here.”

Spike looked at the picture to see the human Rarity. He then noticed the sixth girl in the middle, holding a small red bird in her hands. She looked like Susan, but, friendlier.

“I’m guessing that the sixth girl there is the Sunset Shimmer from Equestria,” Spike figured. “If so, that little bird must be Phoebe, who got changed coming here, too.”

“I believe you’re right,” Twilight said. “I can only wonder where Sunset is now. And what’s really surprising is that, in this picture, the other girls look like they’re friends.”

“Some of them said that they were friends before ‘Sally,’ disappeared,” Spike said. “Maybe Susan had something to do with it.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Susan,” Twilight said. “But, we can’t prove it.”

“That’s true,” Spike said. “But, if you want to win votes, you'll have to focus on making friends here. Let’s face it, neither of us know much about this world, so, we need help from some natives.” He gave a slight yawn.

“You’re right, Spike,” Twilight said. “First things first, we should get some sleep. We had a very long and eventful day today.” She then kissed Spike on the forehead. “Goodnight, Spike.”

“Goodnight, Mom,” Spike said, curling next to Twilight.

Later that night, the bird from earlier was guiding a figure clad in clothes as dark as the night to the domed roof of the CHS library. They saw Twilight and Spike asleep on a pile of books.

“Is that them, Phoebe?” the figure asked the bird. The bird nodded. “Good girl.” The figure then carefully opened a glass panel and lowered a rope to climb down on. Once her feet were firmly on the ground, she quietly crept up to the slumbering Twilight and Spike. She gently woke them up.

Twilight and Spike both stirred. When they opened their eyes, they saw their new guest. She looked like Susan, only she had a much gentler demeanor.

“Are you Susan or ‘Sally?’” Twilight inquired.

“‘Sally,’” she replied. “But, you may call me Sunset. Everyone does.” She presented a card with a picture of her and her name on it.

“Oh!” Twilight gasped softly. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. Princess Celestia has told my friends and myself such wonderful things about you.”

Sunset’s face showed visible confusion. “She had positive things to say about a failure like me?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “Princess Celestia never said anything about you being a failure.”

“She must have if you know about me at all,” Sunset responded. “How she’d send another pony to punish my failures on her behalf.”

“What are you talking about?” Spike asked, just as confused. “We’re here because Susan stole Twilight’s crown.”

“And what’s this about sending a pony to punish another pony?” Twilight asked.

“Didn’t you have a fellow protege to beat you up each time you failed?” Sunset asked.

“No,” Twilight answered honestly. “I didn’t have any fellow protege. At my entrance exam, I was the only one who qualified.”

“So, the princess did the beating herself?” Sunset asked.

“Again,” Spike asked. “What are you talking about?!”

“Why would you think there are beatings?” Twilight asked.

“Because I experienced them before I came here,” Sunset answered.

“What?!” Twilight and Spike gasped.

“Why would anypony beat you?” Twilight asked, absolutely mortified.

“To punish me for my failings,” Sunset responded. “That’s probably the real reason you’re here. Because Princess Celestia wants me punished for trying to get away.”

“Spike and I are telling you the truth,” Twilight said. “Susan stole my crown and we came here to get it back from her. Nopony is going to beat you, I promise.”

“Princess Celestia didn’t even know you were here,” Spike added.

“She didn’t, huh?” Sunset responded with noticeable skepticism. “She knows literally everything. She sees you when you’re sleeping, she knows when you’re on the can, she knows what’s going on all across the land.”**

“Before we came here,” Twilight said. “She didn’t even know that your friend Wallflower was getting picked on.”

“Wallflower must’ve been tortured into telling you that information,” Sunset reasoned.

“No, she wasn’t,” Twilight said. “When Wallflower explained what had happened, Princess Celestia was disgusted with what she heard about the bullies. She even asked Wallflower why she didn’t tell her sooner.”

“What would be the point in telling her if she already knew?” Sunset asked.

“Because she didn’t!” Spike said, beginning to grow exasperated.

“Easy, Spike,” Twilight said gently. She calmly rubbed his left face cheek. “It’s clear that Sunset has been through a lot during her time as Princess Celestia’s protege. This must have been the work of that bully that Wallflower mentioned.”

“Moonrise was sent to punish my failures on the Princess’ behalf,” Sunset said. “I kept failing and the princess kept sending Moonrise to punish me on her behalf.”

“Moonrise?” Twilight asked.

“And Princess Celestia would never do such a horrible thing,” Spike said.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to say,” Sunset sighed. “But, unless I hear from the princess herself that she didn’t, I just can’t bring myself to believe that what you’re saying is true.”***

Twilight sighed in defeat. “Very well. So, why are you up here?”

“I heard that you’re trying to run against Susan for the Fall Formal Princess,” Sunset explained. “You have no idea what you’re getting involved in. She doesn’t play nice.”

“Ashleigh told me something along those lines earlier, too,” Twilight explained. “But, if it’s to get my crown and Element of Harmony back, I’ll take the risk.”

“The Elements of Harmony were found?!” Sunset asked in surprise.

“Yeah,” Spike said. “Almost two and a half years ago, Mom met five other ponies and found them in the Everfree Forest in the Castle of the Two Sisters.”

“You helped, too, Spike,” Twilight said.

“Was that on the very day Nightmare Moon returned?” Sunset asked.

“It was,” Twilight explained.

“I left at the midnight hour of that day,” Sunset said. “It’s been three full years for me since that day.”

“You miss your brother and Wallflower, don’t you?” Spike asked sympathetically.

“I do,” Sunset admitted. “But, I can’t go back to Equestria and face Celestia’s wrath.”

“We promise you there won’t be any wrath,” Twilight said. “She, Sunburst, and Wallflower all miss you and they want you to be safe and sound back in Equestria. Sunburst has been searching Equestria for you since you’ve been gone.”

“Back to the point,” Sunset said. “I’m afraid your plan has a fatal flaw.”

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“In order to officially run for Princess of the Fall Formal,” Sunset explained. “You have to be a registered student.”****

“Oh, dear,” Twilight said in a worried tone. “That is a flaw.”

“But,” Sunset said, pulling something out of her pants pocket. “I think there is a way that I can help.”

“How?” Twilight asked.

Sunset presented Twilight with a Canterlot High Transfer Student ID card. It had Twilight’s name on it. “This will let you pass as a registered student so you’ll at least qualify to be a candidate.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said gratefully.

“At least this way,” Sunset said. “Celestia knows I succeeded at something.”

“Wait,” Spike said. “How did you know about us?”

“You can thank Phoebe,” Sunset answered as she gestured to the red bird. Phoebe chirped politely. “She’s been keeping an eye on the school for me for the past year.”

“I see,” Twilight said. “Well, thank you, Phoebe. I have just one more question for you, Sunset. Why haven’t you been coming to school? Your friends really miss seeing you here.”

“Susan’s been putting Essence of Lavender in my morning tea every morning for this past year,” Sunset explained. “She doesn’t know I’ve built up an immunity by now. If I tried contacting my friends, she could find out.”

“That does make sense,” Twilight nodded. “But, you should really find some other way to see them without Susan finding out. Things have really faltered between them.”

“I wish I could help,” Sunset admitted. “But, Susan would know if I tried.”

Twilight sighed again. “I’ll see what I can do then.” Twilight yawned. “I’m going to try to get some sleep. I have a lot of things I need to do tomorrow. Thank you for talking with me and I want to help you, too.”

Before leaving, Sunset gave Spike a gentle scratch behind his ears. Spike was surprised by this gesture, but, allowed it to happen all the same.*****

“Rest well, little guy,” she said kindly.

After Sunset climbed back up the rope and hid evidence she entered, Spike spoke up.

“I get the feeling Wallflower didn’t tell us the whole story,” he said.

“Well, Wallflower did promise to keep it a secret,” Twilight explained. “And with Pinkie in the room, she wouldn’t let Wallflower fully tell. You know how Pinkie is at keeping secrets.”

“Well,” Spike continued. “Whoever this Moonrise is and whatever she did to Sunset, she really did a number on her. I haven’t even met Moonrise and I hate her. I can’t explain it, but, when Sunset touched me, I could tell at once that she’d never hurt me.”

“I understand what you mean, Spike,” Twilight said. “But, it’s clear that Sunset doesn’t want to believe us on this. There has to be some other way to convince her to not only get back to school and reconcile with her friends, but, also a way to get her to come back to Equestria so she can properly talk with Princess Celestia about this.”

“Let’s worry about that later,” Spike suggested.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Twilight said. “We should get some rest while it’s still night.”

And so, the two went back to sleep, with Twilight holding Spike in her arms.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Take that, canon!

**A two-fold reference!

***Emotional depth is emotional.

****Yeah, that's not addressed in canon.

*****WHOLESOME!!!

At last, the real Sunset has made her appearance.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 2: “Sunset Shimmer” Strikes at Night

Some time later, as most of the ponies and the dragon slept, the mysterious figure lurked around quietly. She crept into Twilight and Spike’s room and found Twilight’s crown on the vanity. With a glow of light brilliant opal magic, she levitated the crown off of the vanity and into the black saddlebag she was carrying. However, as it was so dark, she couldn’t see properly and ended up striking her hoof against the vanity, causing her to let out a rather loud expression of pain. “OW! SON OF A BITCH!”*

The sudden interjection caused Twilight and Spike to wake with a start. They looked around the dark room, seeing the intruder and the stolen goods as she was about to make her way out of the door.

“My crown!” Twilight gasped. “She’s got my crown!”

“God dammit!” the intruder muttered.

Twilight and Spike made their way out of bed and gave chase to the intruder, who bolted. The calamity alerted the other Guardians of Harmony, who peeked out of their rooms to see what was going on.

“Stop!” Twilight called. “Thief!”

Sunburst and Wallflower were also alerted.

“What’s going on?!” Sunburst asked.

“Did somepony say, ‘thief?’” Wallflower asked.

The intruder collided with Sunburst and Wallflower, causing her to lose her cloak, revealing her to be a brilliant amber unicorn mare with a mane and tail of brilliant amaranth with light apple green stripes and eyes of moderate cyan. Sunburst and Wallflower couldn’t help but gasp as they looked as if they had seen a ghost.

“Sunset?” Wallflower asked.

“You’re here?!” Sunburst gasped.

The intruder realized her cover was blown and quickly used her magic to lift the cloak and throw it back at the guardians as a diversion.

“Suck on that, bitches!” she said before galloping ahead.

“Stop!” Twilight exclaimed as she teleported ahead of the intruder.

“Sh*t!” the intruder exclaimed as the two collided.

“Oof!” Twilight yelped.

Twilight’s crown then was propelled out of the intruder’s saddlebag and ricocheted off the walls. As it made its way to the mirror, it phased through the reflective surface. The Guardians were so surprised by what they saw that they couldn’t do anything but stare in disbelief.

“What did you do?” Twilight asked the intruder sternly. “What happened to my crown and where did it go?!”

The intruder got up and wore a devious smirk. “I broke in, it’s up your ass, and f*ck you all in that order, Princess,” she said before diving into the mirror herself.

Sunburst and Wallflower walked up to meet the Guardians. They still couldn’t believe what they had witnessed.

“She looked like my sister,” Sunburst said. “But, she certainly didn’t act like my sister.”

“You’re right,” Wallflower said. “The Sunset I know would never do anything like that no matter how badly that monster treated her.”

“Her aura wasn’t even the right color**,” Sunburst pointed out. That caught the attention of the Guardians.

“This is bad,” Fluttershy said, stating the obvious. “If that pony wasn’t Sunset Shimmer, then, who was she?”

It was a question that none of them had an answer to. Either way, this was an ordeal that they had to talk to Princess Celestia about.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter. Yes, it's a little short, but, take it or leave it.

*The first of many reasons this is listed as mature.

**FORESHADOWING!!!

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 3: A Royal Predicament

The Princesses were informed of the situation upon being woken up. Princess Celestia herself took note of one particular detail.

“You say this mare’s aura was a greenish-blue?” she inquired.

“Yes,” Sunburst said. “The real Sunset Shimmer has a moderate amaranth or, for simplicity’s sake, red magic aura.”

“Magic auras don’t just change color like that,” Wallflower said. The Guardians opted to remain silent about Dark Mimic.*

“Hey, Wallflower?” Spike said. “Earlier, you mentioned something about a ‘monster.’ What was that about?”

“Let’s just say that I wasn’t the only victim of a bully at magic school,” Wallflower admitted.

“Thanks, Wallflower,” Rainbow said sarcastically. “That explains everything.”

“Hold on, Rainbow,” Applejack said sternly. “This might go back ta that thing that Wallflower promised ta keep secret.”

“Bullying?” Celestia asked, almost indignant. “In my magic school?”

Wallflower meekly nodded. “I was a frequent victim,” she said. “And here’s why.” She raised a forehoof up and made a flower grow out of it using her own magic.

“Wallflower,” Celestia said gently. “I accepted you into my school because of your gift. It is very special and those other students should have known better. How long have they been bullying you?”

“Ever since I first enrolled 14 years ago,” Wallflower admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Celestia asked.

“I didn’t want to be a bother,” Wallflower confessed. “You had enough to worry about as the ruler of Equestria and headmare of the magic school.”

“Wallflower,” Celestia said gently. “I promise you that you could never be a bother to me. I want to be fair towards my students and if I had known you were in trouble, I would have helped you and sorted things out with those bullies. But, since I didn’t know, I wasn’t there to help you. So, I apologize to you.”

“That should also go to Sunset,” Wallflower said. “I’ve gotten death threats at least twice a day from my bullies, but, what Sunset’s did to her was even worse.”

So, Wallflower explained a fraction of what had happened, but, left out who specifically bullied Sunset. This caused the others listening to become shocked and increasingly uncomfortable.

“What?!” Celestia gasped.

“Even at my sister’s worst and most neglectful,” Luna said. “She would never have allowed such things in her school if she had one!”

“That was just horrible!” Cadance gasped. “Who could even be capable of such cruelty?”

“I know who,” Wallflower said. “But, that’s for Sunset to tell you.”

“Indeed,” Rarity said. “Though, of course, the Sunset we met wasn’t like the one who was your friend. She did such a cruel thing by stealing Twilight’s crown and used such vulgar language.”

“And now Twilight’s crown is up her bu-” Pinkie started before Applejack slammed the pink earth pony’s mouth shut.

“It ain’t really up there,” Applejack said flatly. “But, how’d that thief n’ the crown go inta that there mirror?”

“Luna, Canis**, and I can explain,” Princess Celestia said as she led them to the room where the mirror was kept. “Once we do, Twilight, you will soon know more about this place than even we do.”

“That mirror is not an ordinary one,” Luna stated. “It is the Crystal Mirror, a gateway to another world.”

“After your coronation,” Celestia explained. “I had given the mirror to the Crystal Empire so that it can be more carefully watched over.”

“Wait,” Rainbow said. “If that mirror leads to another world, what’s stopping some pony from going through whenever they want?”

“The fact that the gateway is not always open,” Luna explained. “Every thirty moons, the gateway opens. After three and a half days and nights, the portal closes again.”

“Today’s the first full day,” Canis said from atop Luna’s back.

“Twilight,” Celestia said. “With your crown now being on the other side of the gateway, you must use the mirror to go through and find it. Without your crown in Equestria, the other elements lose their power. From what I have heard, the world on the other side is different from ours.”

“Uh, isn’t the Element of Magic the other five elements mixed together?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes,” Celestia said. “But, it was only after all of them were discovered that their true magic was unleashed. The Element of Magic also stabilizes and energizes the other five elements.” She returned her attention to Twilight. “Do you understand your task?”

Twilight was nervous, but, nodded.

“Then, you must go at once,” Celestia said.

Twilight was about to walk towards the mirror, but, her path was intercepted by the other Guardians of Harmony, Sunburst, and Wallflower.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow said. “If you’re sending Twilight to some mysterious other world, then, we should go, too!”

“And if that other world is where the fake Sunset Shimmer came from,” Sunburst added. “It stands to reason that the real Sunset Shimmer would be there. It seems fitting that Wallflower and I should go as well.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you all go,” Celestia said.

“What?” Rainbow asked. “Well, why not?!”

“Sending all of you would upset the balance of the other world,” Celestia explained calmly. “This, in turn, would make it impossible for Twilight to get the crown back.”

Reluctantly, the ponies had to clear the path back, allowing the lavender alicorn to enter.

“We’ll be waitin’ fer ya, Twilight,” Applejack said comfortingly.

“Be careful,” Fluttershy advised.

“Please bring my real sister back,” Sunburst pleaded.

“Time is of the essence,” Luna said. “Remember, on the third day, when the moon reaches its peak in the night sky, the gateway will close. Once it does, it will be another thirty moons before you will be able to use it to return.”

“You're telling us,” Rainbow said. “That if Twilight doesn't get back by midnight on the third day, she’ll be stuck in another world for, like, thirty YEARS?!”

“Thirty months,” Canis corrected.

“Oh,” Rainbow said with an embarrassed blush. “I guess saying thirty moons can make it sound longer than it actually is. Either way, that’s like two and a half years.”

Twilight took a deep breath and exhaled. She then carefully stepped through the mirror to a world that was unknown to her. Spike, however, grew increasingly frantic. Without thinking fully, he charged through the portal after Twilight.

“Spike!” the ponies called.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*It's a callback!

**He's back, baby! At full life!

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 4: Through the Portal

In the last moment before she left the Crystal mirror room, Twilight thought she heard the ponies screaming Spike’s name. But, now that she was tumbling through the air, twisting and flipping through some unknown vortex, it was hard to tell. She couldn’t focus on anything, let alone figure out what had happened to him. Ouch! Twilight thought as her body contorted and stretched. She couldn’t see much. Just flashes of light, colors, and a blurry green-and-purple thing…

Suddenly, in a flash of white light, the unsettling sensation stopped. Twilight groaned from the adrenaline rush. Her eyes slowly opened to see grass and a cold hard gray surface. This hard surface is what she seemed to be on. As her vision cleared more, she saw a little dog that had the familiar emerald green eyes she knew belonged to Spike.

“Spike?” Twilight asked. “Are you a… dog?”

“I think so,” the dog version of Spike replied. He scrunched up his face. “But, I have no idea what you are.”

Twilight was confused as to what he meant. She reached out her front right hoof to look over herself, only to find that what she extended was not a hoof. Instead, it was a thin spindly appendage, ending in five thin digits.

“Huh?” Twilight asked herself. Afterwards, she let out a panicked scream. She covered her mouth to stop her screaming. She looked over herself. She was taller, skinnier, and was wearing some unusual clothes. She wore a light blue blouse fastened with a magenta bowtie, a dark purple skirt with a patch resembling her Cutie Mark, purple legwarmers with lavender argyle print, and black loafers. She had a studious look to her attire. On top of that, her coat appeared more fleshy and a lighter shade than her normal coat color. Her saddlebag even transformed into a backpack. She panted nervously. “Spike, what does the rest of me look like?”

“Well,” Spike said as he carefully looked her over. “You remember the description of that Megan character in the story of Hearth’s Warming?”*

“Yes,” Twilight said.

“Well, your body kind of fits that description,” Spike said.

“This is…” Twilight started to say. “Really surreal, for both of us.” She looked at her clothes again. “Where did these clothes even come from? I don’t remember putting these on going into the mirror.”

“They must have appeared some time between Equestria and here,” Spike guessed. He then looked around. “Although, where exactly is here?”

Twilight looked around herself. “I’m not sure, but, that supposed Sunset Shimmer can’t have gone far.”

“Can I please stay and help you look?” Spike asked.

“You’re willing to stay?” Twilight asked. “Even when we’re both in these… unique forms?”

“I want to help my mom,” Spike said, unconsciously making a face cuter than he ever had been capable of as a dragon.

Twilight couldn’t resist that adorable face, so, she smiled. “Alright,” Twilight said. “Since you’re so willing to stay, then, let’s look together.” She tried levitating him onto her back, but, she quickly found that it wasn’t working. “Something’s wrong, Spike. My magic isn’t working here!”

“Then, it looks like I’ll have to climb on,” Spike said.

So, with Twilight standing on her hands and feet, Spike crawled onto Twilight’s back. She then started off on all fours in an awkward manner.

“Uh…” said a passing-by boy walking a dog on a leash.

“I get the sneaking suspicion we’re drawing attention to ourselves,” Spike whispered to Twilight.

“I get the feeling that you're right,” Twilight whispered to Spike in return.

So, with concentration, Twilight stood upright on her two legs. She then gently set Spike down on the ground on all fours. She wobbled a bit, for she wasn’t used to standing upright on two legs. With a little practice, it started to feel more natural. So, she and Spike walk up to the front doors of a large building that looked like a castle to the two. Twilight suspected that the doors were locked and decided to try her magic again. Since she didn’t have a horn, however, nothing happened.

“I probably should’ve mentioned this earlier,” Spike said. “But, you don’t have a horn anymore.”

“What?!” Twilight gasped. She felt her forehead. “Do I still have wings?!”

“I can’t tell,” Spike answered. “That saddlebag’s in the way.”

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter. Yeah, it's a little short, but, take it or leave it.

*It's a callback!

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 5: Storming the Castle

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 6: Searching for Celeste

Equestria Girls (Nine Elements version): Book 1: Through the Mirror

Written by Brandon Nell, Rachael Ravens, and Blake Hawkins

Chapter 6: Searching for Celeste

“Really?” Twilight asked.

“This morning,” Fauna explained. “I was passing out flyers for the local animal shelter like I do every Wednesday.”

Wednesday? Twilight pondered internally. This world’s dates must be out of sync with Equestria’s. That would explain why it was the first day of winter there, but, somewhere in early fall or late summer here.*

“I was discouraged when no one would pick up a flier from me,” Fauna said. “I slumped against the statue to cry, when all of a sudden, the crown hit me in the back of the head. I didn’t know how it got there, but, I didn’t want anything to happen to it. So, I decided to pick it up and return it to Principal Celeste. Though, strangely, the crown was a little heavier than I thought it’d be. It didn’t feel like plastic. It felt like real metal.”

“Wait a minute,” Twilight said. “Principal Celeste?”

“Yes,” Fauna confirmed. “Principal Celeste Divine. Though, she insists on being called Principal Celeste instead of Principal Divine.”

“I see,” Twilight said. “So, if I was to talk to Principal Celeste, where can I find her?”

“Most likely in her office,” Fauna said. She then gave Twilight a small piece of paper. “You should find it on this map.”

“Thank you, Fauna,” Twilight said gratefully. “I’ll go and see her now.” She was about to make her way to her office, following the map Fauna gave her, but, Fauna stopped her briefly.**

“Wait, please,” Fauna said. “Regarding Spike. You’re really not supposed to have pets on school grounds. You may want to tuck him into your backpack. That’s what I do.” She unzipped her backpack to reveal small animals inside. “They just get so lonely when I’m at school all day.”

“Okay,” Twilight said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” She lowered her backpack and unzipped it to let Spike in. She then took a look at the map and realized she didn’t know where she was on it. “Uh, can you point to our location on the map?”

Fauna pointed at a particular point on the map. “We’re right here.”

“Thanks again,” Twilight said.

So, Twilight followed the directions on the map and she found Principal Celeste’s office. She then politely knocked on her door.

“Come in,” said a mature sounding voice. A voice that Twilight knew very well after over a decade of studying its various nuances.

So, Twilight opened the door to the office. She saw a mature woman sitting at her desk. She had light pink skin, her hair was the same distinct prismatic colors that Twilight recognized as Princess Celestia’s mane (though, it remained static as opposed to the cascading she was familiar with), wearing a classy golden yellow blazer, a purple undershirt, matching purple pants, and white loafers.

“Hello,” she greeted. “Are you a new student?”

“Uh, yeah,” Twilight answered. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle. I’m new here and—”

“Welcome to Canterlot High,” Principal Celeste interrupted. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Twilight cleared her throat nervously. “Earlier, Fauna found a crown this morning and gave it to you.”

“Why, yes,” Principal Celeste said. “I have had my sister put it somewhere for safe keeping. I don’t understand how it ended up in the front lawn, though. I assume you’re interested in becoming Princess of the Fall Formal this year?”

“Well, the truth about the crown is that-” Twilight started before she considered. “Princess of the Fall Formal?”

“It’s the first dance of the Canterlot High school year,” Principal Celeste explained. “And as for the princess, students select one of their peers to represent them. Since I’ve noticed that more students vote for female students rather than male students, the title of Princess of the Fall Formal has stuck.”

This explanation made sense to Twilight. “We did something similar at… my old school.”

“Did this school function also have a royal?” Principal Celeste asked.

“Well…” Twilight answered. “Yes, but, she’s not exactly a student.”

“Fascinating,” Principal Celeste said.

“Anyway,” Twilight said. “You had asked me if I was interested in running for Princess. Can anypony run?”

“Anypony?” Celeste asked. “That’s very strange. During my entire tenure as Principal, I’ve known only one other student to use that term over anybody.”

Twilight covered her mouth, realizing her mistake. “Uh, that was something that was popular in my old neighborhood. I guess I hadn’t let that go.” Could this one other student be the Sunset Shimmer from Equestria?

“I see,” Celeste said. “To answer your question, any student can run for the title. You just need to let the head of the Fall Formal Planning Committee know you’d like to be on the ballot.” Celeste seemed to sense that Twilight had lots of unspoken questions. “Was there anything else?”

“Uh, no, that was it,” Twilight answered, feeling she wouldn’t believe the truth if she told her.

Celeste smiled. “Well, if you need anything else, my door is always open.”

Outside in the hallway, Spike popped his head out of the bag. Neither of them noticed a red bird*** silently observing them. “Mom, what are you doing?” he asked. “Why didn’t you just tell her the crown was yours and ask for it back?”

“Spike,” Twilight said. “Do you honestly think she’ll believe that I’m a pony princess from another world and that the crown is actually an important magical relic?” The bird seemed surprised by this information, but, remained quiet all the same.

“Well,” Spike said. “I guess you have a point. I mean, I can barely believe this situation myself.”

“Looks like, if I want to get my crown back,” Twilight said. “I’ll have to become princess of the Canterlot High Fall Formal. So, that’s what I’m going to do.”

“How are you going to do that?” Spike asked.

“I have no idea!” Twilight admitted without changing her determined attitude. Spike covered his face with a paw while the bird did so with her wing.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Personal headcanon.

**Reality ensues.

***She'll be important later.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 7: A Lunchroom Divided

It didn’t seem possible, but, the Canterlot High cafeteria was even more crowded than the hallways. The massive room was packed. Tons of chattering students sat at the long white tables that were lined up in the center of the room. Everyone was just hanging out and seemed to be having a great time. Various school flags and posters hung high up on the walls, above the tall windows. Some of the signs said “GO, CHS!” and some had swirly gold writing that read “WONDERCOLTS.” The energy of the room reminded Twilight of a party in the big barn at Sweet Apple Acres, but, a lot shinier. And a lot noisier. Twilight spotted Fauna and got behind her in the lunch line. It was still a little awkward using her “hands,” so balancing her lunch tray was no small task. She followed close behind Fauna, hoping to blend in. It seemed to be working so far. Fauna handed her tray to the lunch lady, who scooped a big glob of unidentified orange food onto her plate. When Twilight handed hers over, she nearly dropped it because the lunch lady looked so much like Applejack’s grandmother, Granny Smith. Chances were that it was the Granny Smith native to that world. The thought of this made Twilight wonder if all she knew in Equestria had a human counterpart. She quickly shook those thoughts from her head.

“Fauna?” Twilight said as they went to their table. “I’ve decided to run for princess of the Fall Formal and I was wondering if you might be able to help—”

Fauna’s jaw dropped and so did her fruit cup. Juice splattered everywhere, including all over Twilight’s purple skirt. Fauna scrambled to look for a napkin. Luckily, Granny Smith tossed her a dishrag.

“Oh, gosh. Sorry!” Fauna whimpered. “It’s just that running for Fall Formal princess is a really, really, really bad idea.”

“Why?” asked Twilight, trying to dab some juice off her skirt.

“You seem really nice and I really appreciate you standing up for me earlier.…” Fauna seemed hesitant to break the news. She looked around the cafeteria and lowered her voice. “But, Susan Shoichet wants to be Fall Formal princess. And when she wants something, she gets it.” The two girls took their trays to one of the long tables and sat down. “She’ll make life miserable for anyone who stands in her way!” Fauna took a tiny bite of the orange glop on her plate and made a face. It must have tasted pretty awful.

“Well, I have to try,” said Twilight, determined. She appreciated Fauna’s concern, but, Fauna didn’t really know what was at stake here for Equestria. There was no way she could have, seeing as she knew nothing about the pony world and its inhabitants.

“But, you’d have to persuade all the groups to vote for you instead of her,” explained Fauna. She motioned to the other tables, each one filled with a different category of students. Twilight soon learned that there were a bunch of different cliques at Canterlot High School. On one side of the cafeteria sat a table of athletes all tossing a ball to one another. Roxy was among them. Nearby, the fashionistas were all reading magazines and applying brightly colored makeup. And next to them was the table Fauna called the “dramas”—they all seemed to be reading lines from some sort of play. The other side of the cafeteria had even more groups, including the eco kids, the techies, and the rockers. Twilight stared at the rocker table, specifically at the blue-haired boy who’d helped her in the hallway. He was strumming a red electric guitar and looking out the window dreamily. He looked kind of cute. For a weird two-legged animal, Twilight thought, smirking.

“Why is everypony—I mean, everybody separated this way?” Twilight pondered aloud.

Fauna took notice of something Twilight said. “You just said everypony,” she commented. “I had a friend who sometimes used that.”

Twilight blinked. “Oh uh… you did?!”

“Yes,” Fauna admitted. “Sally Shoichet, Susan’s twin sister. Though, Sally kept insisting that she be called Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight gasped quietly. “I see…” She figured this was as good a time to ask. “Where is she now?”

“To be honest,” Fauna admitted. “Nobody really knows. A little over a year ago, she stopped coming to school and nobody’s seen or heard from her since.”

“Oh…” sighed Twilight.

“We tried texting, calling, emails, and even messages on social media,” Fauna lamented. “But, she hasn’t responded on any of them.”

Twilight gave a small nod, even if she didn’t understand what any of those things were. “I’m sorry…” Then, a thought occurred to her. “Have you tried going to where she lives?”

“She never told us where she lives,” Fauna admitted. “It’s a real shame because I miss seeing her little pet bird, Phoebe.”

Twilight smiled to herself. Just like Fluttershy. “Anyway, you haven’t answered why everybody was separated.”

Fauna sighed. “At CHS, everybody sticks to their own kind. The only thing they have in common is that they know Susan Shoichet is going to rule this school until most of us graduate.”

Twilight frowned. “Not if I can help it!” she said before she leaned down to her tray and bit into an apple just as she would have back home in Ponyville. She didn’t even realize she was still trying to eat like a pony until Fauna made a weird face. She was going to have to be more careful not to act like her old self from now on. Twilight wanted to impress the population of Canterlot High, not scare them. Twilight removed the apple from her teeth and gave an embarrassed chuckle. “So, um, where would I find the head of the Party Planning Committee?”

After lunch, Twilight and Spike walked into the school’s gymnasium. There were a few decorations strewn about here and there, including streamers, balloons, and confetti. Fauna herself refused to go along with them. Luckily, they were able to follow the map she gave them.

“Fauna said that we’d find her in here,” Twilight said to Spike.

“INCOMING~!” yelled an excited voice from across the gymnasium. At that moment, a barrage of multiple colored streamers cascaded over the two purple visitors. When they shook off some of the streamers, they noticed who caused it. There, tossing confetti all over the place, was a girl with soft pink skin, poofy magenta hair, a short sleeved blue jacket over a white shirt with a pink heart, a pink skirt with a light purple bow around her waist, and long blue boots. This girl, unlike the others they interacted with up to that point, had a round potbelly that her shirt clearly couldn’t cover as it failed to reach her belly button.* She then removed a yellow balloon that was on her skirt and blew into it as if it was a regular balloon. They could tell right away that this was the Pinkie Pie of this new world.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked in surprise. That caught the pink girl’s attention.

“Are you psychic?!” the girl, Pinkie, asked in surprise.

Twilight didn’t know what to say in response. “I… just made a lucky guess is all,” was all she managed to say.

“It sure was a lucky guess,” Pinkie smiled, her tone softening. “So, what brings you in here?”

“Well,” Twilight said. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle and no, it’s not a nickname.”

“Nice to meetcha, Twilight,” Pinkie said in a friendly, welcoming manner. “Had I known that CHS would be getting a new student today, I would have been there to give you the official Canterlot Wondercolts Welcome.”

“Anyway,” Twilight continued. “Fauna said this is where I’d find the head of the Fall Formal Planning Committee. Since you’re the only one here, I assume that’s you.”

At Twilight’s mention of Fauna’s name, Pinkie suddenly had an annoyed look on her face. “Fauna, huh? Well, she was right about me being the head of the Fall Formal Party Planning Committee, but, you shouldn’t put all of your trust in her. She may appear all shy and cute, but, she can be a real meanie when she wants to be.”

Twilight could hardly believe her ears. A version of Pinkie and Fauna that weren’t getting along? Sure, the ones she knew had their disagreements, but, not to that extent. “Aren’t you two friends?” she asked. Pinkie let go of the balloon in her hand and it flew through the air in a pitiful loop.

“Not since Sally disappeared,” Pinkie sighed.

“Oh, dear,” Twilight said sadly. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“But, enough about me and my friendship disagreements,” Pinkie said, regaining her cheerful composure. “With you being new to school, I’m not surprised that you would wait a bit to get your name on the ballot, because the dance is the day after tomorrow. Although, now that I’m really looking at you face to face… do you have a twin sister who lives in the city and has a pet dog that looks just like that one?”**

“I have an older brother, but, no sister,” Twilight answered.

“Ah, okay,” Pinkie shrugged. “Figured I’d ask. Anywho, you just need to sign here and you’ll be up for the coveted Princess of the Fall Formal Crown.” She then fished out a clipboard with a slip of paper from her hair and also dug out a pen. Twilight awkwardly scrawled her name on the sheet, trying her best to use her hand. She began to miss the convenience of magic, which she had more practice with. Pinkie looked at the sheet. “What’s this? Dancing weasels?”***

“Uh,” Twilight said with a sheepish chuckle. “I just wasn’t used to that style of pen.” She then noticed a somewhat sad expression on Pinkie’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Sally had handwriting like that,” Pinkie answered. “It took her a year to write something legible.”

Twilight comforted Pinkie. “I know what that’s like, being separated from someone you really care about. But, if I’m able to find her, I’m hoping to convince her to come back and see you.”

“Someone order a dozen cases o’ fizzy apple juice?” called a familiar voice.

“I did, over here!” Pinkie said happily.

Entering the gymnasium with a crate of cider bottles was a young woman with light orange skin, long blond hair fastened in a low ponytail, a brown stetson on her head, a white and green-accented western style blouse tied at the bottom to expose her midriff, a pair of blue denim daisy dukes, and brown boots with red apples.****

“Here ya go, Pinkie,” the young woman said.

“Thanks, Ashleigh,” Pinkie said. “Is Mack coming with the rest?”

“Eeyup,” replied a male voice as he entered the gym. The voice belonged to an older male student. His skin was a dark shade of pink with freckles on his cheeks, his hair was a scruffy yellowish-orange, an open red shirt with brown accents, a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, and red and white sneakers. Twilight and Spike recognized him as Big McIntosh’s human counterpart.

At that point, Ashleigh noticed Twilight.

“Hey, ah think ah know o’ ya,” she said. “Yer the new girl what stood up ta Susan Shoichet taday in the hall.”

“You’ll hear about her for another reason,” Pinkie said. “Twilight is going to be running against Susan for Fall Formal Princess.”

“What?!” Ashleigh interjected. “That’s crazy! She don’t play nice. Ah just couldn’t believe how different she n’ Sally are when they’re twin sisters. Still, the only gal at this school ya can trust less ‘n Susan Shoichet is Roxy Dodgers.”

“I met her earlier today,” Twilight said. “She was pretty crude, but, she didn’t seem to be all that untrustworthy.”

“Believe me, she is,” Ashleigh said. “She may be the captain o’ almost every sports team here, but, she’s also the kind ta say she’ll do somethin’ fer ya, but, then she’ll turn ‘round n’ not even bother ta show up.”

Twilight wasn’t liking this situation so far. She knew Applejack and Rainbow could have their arguments (she witnessed and broke up at least one herself), but, the human Applejack not trusting the human Rainbow to that extent?

“I do understand where you're coming from with this,” Twilight said soothingly. “And I understand why you’d be concerned about me running against Susan. But, please trust me when I say that this is something I need to do, Applejack.”

That caught Ashleigh’s attention. “Applejack, huh?” she said with a hint of nostalgia. “Ah ain’t been called that since Sally up n’ disappeared.”

“I’m hoping to figure out more about her,” Twilight said. “Maybe see if I can convince her to come back and see you, too. Anyway, thanks for your help.”

“No problem there,” Ashleigh said. “N’ if’n ya can find n’ convince Sally, good luck ta ya.”

“Though, we’re not sure you’ll be able to,” Pinkie said. “We tried reaching out to her for a good long while.***** Although, it might work differently for you because you’re psychic.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Twilight said. She and Spike then left the gym. After they left, Susan walked in. Standing next to her were two freshman boys. One boy had teal skin, messy gamboge hair, a pair of noticeable buck teeth, wearing a black t-shirt with a pair of scissors on the front, dark blue jeans, and green sneakers. The other boy had yellowish-tan skin, teal hair, noticeably big ears, a green sweater with a purple and pink snail over his heart, light khaki pants, and red sneakers.

“This looks like sh*t!” she complained. “There should be more streamers near the stage and fewer balloons.” She walked up to one of the balloons and effortlessly popped one. She then sampled some of the apple juice before spitting it out. “Ugh! This tastes like ass!”

“How much ass have you eaten?” asked the taller boy.

“None?” Susan replied with confusion.

“Then, how do you know what it tastes like?” asked the smaller boy.

“F*ck you!” Susan snapped. “It’s a metaphor!”******

“Hey~!” Pinkie said. “I’m just one girl decorating. I wish I had more volunteers, though.”

“Like anyone could tolerate working with a chatterbox spaz like you,” Susan said. Pinkie couldn’t help but feel hurt from Susan’s remark. She then waltzed over to the crates of fizzy apple juice that Ashleigh and Mack brought in. “Fizzy apple juice? Gag! This is my coronation, not a hillbilly hell hoedown.”

“Y’all better take that back, bitch,” Ashleigh warned.

“I would,” Susan smirked. “If I wasn’t wrong~. Don’t you simpleminded country folk understand the big picture? That must be why the other students say such awful things about you being inbred hicks.” She pulled Ashleigh’s hat over her face. Ashleigh growled in annoyance. “Of course it’s my coronation. Like the last few years, I’m running unopposed.”

“Check the ballots and guess again,” Pinkie said.

“Bitch, say what?” Susan asked. She snatched the clipboard away from Pinkie and looked at it. Recognizing the scribbles on the ballot, she suddenly developed an angry twitch in her eye. “Where is that new girl?” she said coldly.

“I don’t know,” Pinkie said. “I’m just the decorator.”

“N’ even if we did know where she was,” Ashleigh said sternly. “Yer just goin’ ta give her trouble.”

“Fine,” Susan said. “I don’t need the help of some bumpkin slut, anyway.” Susan then stormed out of the gym with Skip and Sheldon following behind her. “This one’s on me, boys. Stay here.”

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Personal headcanon.

**FORESHADOWING!!!

***CANDACE: MOM! Phineas and Ferb are getting another reference on an internet fanfiction!

LINDA: Candace, the show's over. You don't have to get into character anymore.

****Yet another personal headcanon.

*****A realistic point.

******The proceeding joke originates from here.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 9: The Wrong Kind of Attention

The next morning, Twilight was ready with a plan. She mulled it over in her head throughout the night.

“Fauna said I’ll need to win over all of the different student groups if I want to win votes,” Twilight said. “So, I’ve compiled a list of talking points. First, I introduce myself.”

“Good so far,” Spike admitted.

“Then,” Twilight continued on. “I’ll sprinkle in some of the things I’ve learned about in casual conversation. Maybe something about computers?”

“Maybe,” Spike nodded.

“After that,” Twilight finished. “They decide that I’m really nice and vote for me.”

“Great ideas,” Spike said.

“Come on, Spike,” Twilight said with confidence. “Time to make a good first impression. This world and Equestria sort of depends on it.”

Spike climbed into Twilight’s backpack. Twilight took a deep breath and exited the library into the school hallways. Students were going about their day, but, when they saw Twilight, there were murmurs of stifling laughter. This left her a bit confused.

“Why is everyone acting like this?” Twilight whispered aloud.

But, as she walked on, she was suddenly pulled into a classroom. She and Spike yelped in surprise at the sudden situation. They saw a glimpse of who was responsible. It was a girl with alabaster skin, long purple hair in luxurious curls, wearing an ice blue off the shoulder blouse, gold bracelets on her wrists, a purple skirt with blue diamonds, fastened by a darker purple belt, and long dark purple high-heeled boots. Twilight recognized her from the yearbook picture.

“Rachael?” Twilight asked. I would have said Rarity, but, that would likely be a nickname to her, Twilight thought to herself.

Rachael pulled out a wig and slapped it on Twilight’s head. “Too poufy,” Rachael winced. She pulled out another. “Too shiny!” she exclaimed.

Where have I seen this before? Twilight thought to herself as Rachael worked. “What are you doing?” she asked aloud.

“Quiet please, darling,” Rachael said. “I’m busy working my magic on you. I need something that says, ‘I am totally new here and you have never seen me before.’ Well, more so than you already did on your own yesterday.”

“Wait, what are you-?” Twilight started before Rachael put Twilight in a key lime green dress and Rachael put a blond Farrah-style wig on Twilight’s head.

“Perfect!” Rachael exclaimed happily. “Now no one will recognize you.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to be–?” Twilight said, her voice muffled by the green fabric.

“I’ll also have to figure out a disguise for your dog,” Rachael said, looking at Spike peeking out of Twilight’s backpack. “It would be a shame considering how absolutely adorable he is. But, with some hard work, I think I can make him look like something just as adorable, like a rabbit.”

Spike appreciated the attention, but, kept mentally reminding himself that this wasn’t the same Rarity he developed feelings for in Equestria. Just then, entering the classroom were Asheligh, Fauna, and Pinkie.

“There ya are, Twilight!” Ashleigh said, relieved.

“So much for the disguise,” Rachael huffed.

“Ah’ve been lookin’ all over fer ya,” Ashleigh explained.

“So was I,” Fauna said.

“And me too,” Pinkie squeaked. “I like your new look.”

“Yes, I do have an eye for these things,” Rachael smiled, but, her expression quickly dropped to a scowl. “Not that you seem to care.”

The comment struck a chord in Twilight. As much as she tried not to care that these versions of her best friends weren’t getting along, it really bothered her. She wanted to say something about it, but, she held her tongue. A subject change was better. “So, why were you all looking for me? What’s going on?”

“Uh, oh,” Fauna said. “She hasn’t seen the video yet.”

“What video?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie pulled a pink laptop out of her backpack and opened it up. She then loaded up the aforementioned video. What Twilight saw was shocking as it was footage of her looking and acting ridiculous in the library with Susan narrating about how incompetent Twilight was. Twilight gasped in shock.

“Yeah…” Pinkie said with worry. “It’s really bad.”

“Some of those happened in the library yesterday!” Twilight exclaimed. “How did this happen?!”

“I have an awful feeling,” Rachael explained. “That Skip and Sheldon, two of Susan’s lackeys, were recording you and Susan compiled the video to slander you. Something similar happened to me when I was running against her during the Spring Fling last school year.”

“Has everyone in the school seen this?” Twilight asked. “This could have been why all of the students were stifling their laughter when they saw me.”

“It may not help much,” Fauna said kindly. “But, I’ll still vote for you. You were so kind to help me when Susan was picking on me in the hallway yesterday, so the least I could do is vote for you.”

Pinkie walked over to Twilight and leaned on a desk. “If you still want to run, maybe there’s something I can do to help.”

“Word of advice,” Fauna whispered. “Don’t take her advice. She’s not one to take anything seriously.”

“Why do you have to be so awful to me?!” Pinkie whined.

“Oh, please,” Rachael said, rolling her eyes. “You’re no better than she is!”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Pinkie snapped.

“Simmer down, y’all!” Ashleigh said, trying to stop the arguing. “Yer all just carryin’ on n’ dumpin’ yer own problems onta Twi. Get over it n’ move on.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Rachael scoffed. “You haven’t let go of what happened between you and Roxy.”

“She said she was goin’ ta come ta the bake sale with her softball team,” Ashleigh argued. “Ah tell everybody they’re comin’, but, then, not one o’ ‘em shows up. She made a liar outta me! That’s different!”

“Is not!” The other girls, minus Twilight, shouted.

“Is too!” Ashleigh retorted back.

Twilight couldn’t handle the arguing any longer. “STOP! All of you!” She then pulled the yearbook out of her backpack. “I want to show you something. You were all friends once.” She opened the yearbook to show the picture of them at the Freshman Fair. Ashleigh was the first to crack.

“The Freshman Fair,” Ashleigh sighed in a nostalgic tone. “That takes me back. Y’all ‘member that?”

“Indeed,” Rachael admitted. “It was where we met Sally for the first time.”

“Think about Sally,” Twilight said. “She was a close friend to all of you. If she were here right now, do you think she’d like seeing her friends arguing like this?”

The four arguing girls were suddenly quieted. They had a lot to think about. They thought about how they were acting and how much they missed Sally.

“If Sally hadn’t disappeared,” Twilight asked. “What would she suggest you all do in arguments like this?”

“Talk through our problems?” Rachael suggested.

“And have any of you actually tried doing that?” Twilight asked.

“No,” they said sadly.

“So, who wants to go first?” Twilight inquired.

“I guess I could,” Fauna said. “The reason I was so upset with Pinkie was because she brought fireworks and noise makers to the animal shelter when we were supposed to have a silent auction.”

“What are you talking about?” Pinkie asked in confusion. “I got a text from you saying that you didn't want a silent auction. You wanted a big party!” She showed her the text on her phone. “See? Right there.”

Fauna was surprised with what she both heard and saw. “I never sent you any of these texts,” Fauna said truthfully. She pulled her own phone out of her pocket and presented her text messages that were to Pinkie. “Wait a minute… How did this message get on my phone? I don’t remember typing that.”

“How did that happen?” Pinkie inquired in clear bewilderment.

“I suspect Susan used Fauna’s phone to send you those texts,” Twilight speculated.*

Fauna and Pinkie were sheepish. “Hey, Fauna,” Pinkie spoke up. “I’m sorry I ruined your silent auction.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Fauna apologized.

“Could Susan have been behind those emails I’ve been receiving?” Rachael pondered.

“What emails?” Pinkie asked.

“Every time I offer to help with decorating for a school function,” Rachael explained. “I would receive an email from Pinkie saying that she has all of the volunteers they need. After each event, I find out Pinkie does all of the decorating herself.”

“I never sent you any emails,” Pinkie explained honestly. “That must be why I never get any volunteers to help me.”

“The emails all say that they’re sent from your phone,” Rachael said.

“I don’t use my phone to send emails,” Pinkie said. She opened her laptop again to show her email address. “I use my computer.”

“Wait a minute…” Rachael said, looking closer. “That email address doesn’t match the email address from the emails I get!”** She then had a remorseful look on her face. “I’m so sorry that I accused you of not being appreciative of my efforts.”

“I’m sorry too, Rachael,” Pinkie apologized.

“Maybe Susan’s the reason Roxy didn’t show up ta mah bake sale,” Ashleigh theorized.

“Had you asked her the reason why?” Twilight asked.

Ashleigh thought about the question and held her hat over her chest as she answered. “Ah guess ah stopped talkin’ ta her at all after that.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “So, let me get this straight,” she said. “All of you have ways to talk to each other from far away without yelling and ways to send messages across great distances in the blink of an eye, but, you still lack basic communication skills?”***

Fauna couldn’t help but sniffle. “That really makes me miss Sally. She would set us straight like you did.”

“I don’t even know how to use those phone things and can barely operate a computer,” Twilight said. “But, I’m still able to communicate with others just fine.”

“I think we could all take a cue from your book, Twilight,” Rachael said.

“Guess there’s one other thing that needs ta be done now,” Applejack said, taking a deep breath. “Ah need ta straighten things out with Roxy. Ah imagine ah’m in fer an earful.”

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*How else would you explain Pinkie receiving texts from Fauna that Fauna herself was unaware of?

**Something Rachael really should've noticed.

***She's not wrong.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 10: The Definition of a Winner

Out in a lush green soccer field, Roxy was the only player. She was practicing her kicks when Ashleigh walked up to her with a shamed look on her face. Roxy could see her coming and looked at her sternly.

“Um…” Ashleigh started. “Ah see yer still on the soccer team, Roxy.”

“Yep,” Roxy said, making little effort to hide her annoyance. “Still on it.”

“That’s great ta hear,” Ashleigh smiled genuinely. “N’ how’s Tank, by the way? Is he eatin’ enough? Cuz, ya know, last time ah saw him, he was lookin’ kinda-”

Roxy kicked a ball and turned to face Ashleigh. “Cut the crap, Apple!” she snapped. “What the hell do you want?”

“Look, Roxy,” Ashleigh said gently. “Ah just wanted ta talk ‘bout–”

“Oh,” Roxy interrupted. “So, now, you want to talk?”

“Ah’m sorry, Roxy,” Ashleigh apologized. “But, right now, there’s a girl-”

“You’re sorry?” Roxy interrupted again.

“About the bake sale,” Ashleigh explained. “Listen, cuz-”

“Oh, of f*cking course,” Roxy interrupted a third time. “The bake sale. The one that you f*cking moved and then canceled on me, right?!”

“That was Susan Shoichet!” Ashleigh exclaimed. “Now, please, let me finish what ah’m-”

“Let you finish?!” Roxy interrupted again. “You don’t f*cking get the right to say that to me! What about all those times I tried to talk to you? Huh? All those times you avoided me? Did you give me a goddamn chance?!”

Ashleigh shamefully removed her hat and held it up to her chest. “No… ah didn’t.”

“Then, why the hell should I listen to you now?!” Roxy challenged. “Huh?! Give me a f*cking reason!”

“Because…” Ashleigh said earnestly. “Ya don’t have ta. But, ya see that girl over there?” Roxy looked where Ashleigh pointed. The athlete’s expression told Ashleigh to get to the point. “She could really use yer help. She’s fixin’ ta do somethin’ crazy n’ she needs all the help she can get. Ah know ah don’t deserve yer help, ah get it. But, ah swear on mah life that she does. Don’t let her down because o’ me. Even if ya won’t do it fer her, do it fer Sally.”

The mention of Sally struck a chord with Roxy. She was quiet for a moment. Then, she asked, “You sure about this girl?”

“She trusts me,” Ashleigh said. “At this point, that’s enough fer me.”

“I tried to be there for you, Ashleigh,” Roxy said. “Because I knew Sally would’ve wanted us to make peace.”

“Ah see that now,” Ashleigh said. “‘N ah want ta be there fer ya, too… ah’d do anythin’.”

“Well,” Roxy said. “I guess that’s enough for me, then. I’m still pissed at you for ghosting me for like a year, though.”

“Ah don’t blame ya,” Ashleigh said. “Ah won’t let it happen again. Ah should’ve reached out sooner.”

“Better late than never,” Roxy said.

Ashleigh and Roxy then hugged each other. They could hear Pinkie excitedly cheer from afar.

“Ah’m truly sorry,” Ashleigh apologized.

“It’s fine,” Roxy said. “So, what’s her plan?”

“She’s plannin’ on runnin’ fer Princess o’ the Fall Formal,” Ashleigh explained.

“Against Susan Shoichet?” Roxy asked. “Are you sh*tting me?”

“Ah ain’t,” Ashleigh said directly.

“Didn’t Rach tell her about the Spring—” Roxy began asking.

“She did,” Ashleigh said. “But, this girl is dee-termined ta keep runnin’.”

Roxy carefully studied Twilight from the bleachers.

“Seems like she is,” Roxy said. “How about we go over there and have a little chat?”*

“Sounds good ta me,” Ashleigh answered before they made their way to the rest of the girls.

Once they got closer, Ashleigh explained to the others what had happened. “So, someone, n’ ah think we can all guess who, told Roxy here that mah bake sale had been moved ta a different day. She brought all the softball team ta the location n’ ah thought ah had canceled on her.”

“I tried to talk things out,” Roxy put in. “I knew Sally would’ve wanted it. But, when Ashleigh kept ghosting me, I felt it was pointless and gave up trying.”

“Do you two feel better now that you’ve actually talked about your feelings?” Twilight asked.

“I’m still pissed,” Roxy admitted. “But, I think I can get over it. I know Sally would’ve tried to get us to talk things out if she hadn’t pulled a Houdini on us. Anyway, you’re looking to overthrow Susan and be the Fall Formal Princess, huh?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Twilight nodded. “Though, I was a bit confused when you said Houdini.”

The human world girls were equally confused.

“Harry Houdini?” Roxy asked. Twilight’s expression showed no signs of recognition. “The famous illusionist known for his escape stunts and vanished years ago?”

“Uh,” Twilight said. She then sounded like she did know, even though she really didn’t. “Oh, that Houdini~! Yes, of course, I guess it just slipped my mind.” This must be how my friends feel when I explain to them something they’re not familiar with, Twilight thought.

“You’re just faking understanding to avoid further embarrassment, aren’t you?” Roxy asked in a deadpan voice.

“Yes,” Twilight said, blushing with embarrassment.

“Hey, no judgment,” Roxy said. “I use a strategy like that all the time. Anyway, I would love to see Susan knocked down a few pegs. And I can help you out…” Twilight smiled happily at this. “...if you can take me on in a game of one on one.”

“What?!” Twilight yelped, her smile dropping to a look of surprised shock.

“You want my help?” Roxy said. “You need to earn it.”

Twilight gulped nervously and she stood up. “Alright,” she said. “What do I have to do in this game?”

“First one to five goals wins,” Roxy explained.

“Do I kick the balls in—” Twilight started asking before she heard Pinkie snickering. “What?”**

“That’s pretty much the gist of it,” Roxy said. “Come on over and we’ll get this game going!” Roxy quickly kicked one of the balls.

The game was on. Twilight wasn’t the most athletic pony back in Equestria, but, for a better chance of getting her crown, she ran faster than she ever did before. But, with Roxy being more athletic, she didn’t have much of a chance. After half an hour, the scores were in; Roxy with 5 goals and Twilight with 0 goals. Twilight then collapsed on the soccer field, panting to catch her breath.

“And that’s game!” Roxy said.

“I really thought you were going to pull through,” Rachael said to Twilight, trying to be supportive.

“Thanks, Rachael,” Twilight sighed. “But, I know I stunk.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Roxy asked as she helped Twilight back onto her feet.

“Wait, you’re helping me?” Twilight asked. “But, I lost.”

“That was a test,” Roxy said. “I didn’t expect a bookworm schoolgirl like you to keep up with me, but, I can’t just help anybody. The Fall Formal Princess should be a girl with heart and determination. You proved that you had both by actually trying.”

Twilight smiled happily at this. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. “Thank all of you.”

Later, after Twilight used the gym shower, the six girls and Spike were at a place called the Sweet Shoppe, which reminded her of Sugarcube Corner back home. Though, it was different. As the woman behind the counter, a rather plump lady who reminded Twilight of Mrs. Cake, was making a hot cocoa for Twilight, the purple girl piped up.

“And, can I get mine with extra oats, please?” Twilight asked politely.

“Oats?” the lady asked. “That’s strange. You’re the second customer we’ve had to make such a request.”

“Uh,” Twilight said, sheepishly giggling. “Scratch that. However you normally make it is fine.”

When her beverage was ready, Twilight took it and slowly turned to join her friends. Unfortunately, she accidentally bumped into Flynn, the boy that Twilight met yesterday. Some of the whipped cream from her hot cocoa had spilled on his shirt.

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’m so sorry! I’ll help clean this up.”

“No harm done,” Flynn said with a nonchalant smile. “Though, we’ve got to stop bumping into each other like this.” He got some napkins to help.

“Well, you know me~” Twilight said sheepishly. “Always making a big splash around here, because my drink kind of splashed… on the ground.” I sound like such a dork, she mentally scolded herself.

Twilight and Flynn finished cleaning up the mess. Then, Twilight went back to join the other girls and Spike. The dragon turned puppy was sleeping peacefully on Rachael’s lap while she and Fauna doted over him. Rachael noticed the fascination Twilight had for Flynn.

“Don’t even think about it,” Rachael reprimanded. “You’re already trying to take the Fall Formal Princess crown from Susan. I can only imagine what she would do to you if you managed to get her ex-boyfriend along with it.”

“Ex-boyfriend?” Twilight asked.

“Flynn broke up with Susan a few weeks ago,” Fauna explained. “I’m just surprised she hasn’t done something awful to him yet.”

“If they’re not together,” Twilight asked. “Why would Susan care who Flynn dates? It doesn’t make sense.”***

“Susan has moments where she’s extremely possessive,” Rachael said. “Even of things she discarded or abandoned her. The sad thing is, she’s not the only person with such a mindset.”

“Oh dear,” Twilight said.

“Back ta helpin’ Twilight,” Ashleigh said. “Everyone in school only knows her from the video that Susan posted. We need ta help ‘em see her differently. There has ta be some way ta show that Twilight is a really smart gal and capable o’ bein’ the Fall Formal Princess.”

The girls were thinking hard, trying to think of any ideas.

“I’VE GOT IT!” Rachael exclaimed, suddenly standing up. Spike was abruptly woken up and scuttled up to Twilight, trembling with fright. Other patrons in the cafe looked at Rachael in surprise and confusion.

“Jeez, Rache!” Roxy griped, rubbing her pinky finger in her right ear. “Warn us next time when you’re going to do that.”

Rachael, realizing how much attention she brought to herself, blushed in embarrassment before calming down.

“Let’s go to my place down the block,” she said. “There’s something Sally and I worked on before she disappeared.”

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Inspiration.

**Pinkie showing immature humor.

***An excellent point.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 11: The Tails of Twilight Sparkle

So, the six girls and one dog went to Rachael’s home. Rachael was digging through a cardboard box. Ashleigh crossed her arms in front of her.

“Want ta explain ta us just what exactly it is yer lookin’ for?” Ashleigh asked.

“Ah-ha!” Rachael called, pulling out what she was looking for. She presented before them blue headbands with yellow plastic pony-like ears and white waist wraps with a blue and yellow pony-like tail made of faux fur. “We can wear these as a sign of unity. Though we are all different, we are all Canterlot Wondercolts. Susan may have divided us, but, Twilight united us in a way that Sally would have done for us. We’re going to let everyone know that Twilight brought us back together as friends. So, what do you think?”

Fauna found herself enamored with the ears and tails, remembering them from freshman year. “Those look like the ones we wore freshmen year,” she said.

“Sally and I began revising them,” Rachael admitted. “She also pitched the idea of wings and horns for some. Personally, I felt that would undercut the unity symbolization.”

“You know,” Pinkie noted. “These are inspiring me to come up with a song.” She put the ears on, but, quickly found putting the tail on to be difficult due to the belt clearly not being meant for one as chubby as her.

“I’ll make sure to modify it to accommodate diverse body types,” Rachael said.

Ashleigh, Roxy, and Fauna were able to put their own tails and ears on with minimal effort.

“Ah ‘member when we first wore these,” Ashleigh said. “Sally said they reminded her o’ home.”

I can see why she would think that, Twilight internally thought.

“I also made sweaters to go with them,” Rachael said.

So, the girls modeled the sweaters. Pinkie managed to do just fine, but, it didn’t escape anyone’s notice that her sweater still failed to fully cover her belly.

“I’ll need to take your measurements again later, Pinkie,” Rachael said before gently poking the exposed part of Pinkie’s belly. “You’ve clearly put on more weight since the day Sally disappeared than I thought.”

“I like it, though,” Pinkie said. “It makes me extra soft for hugging.”*

“Fair enough,” Rachael conceded.

So, they worked for about one and a half hours practicing a new routine to help Twilight win the crown. Come the morning, it was Friday, the very day of the Fall Formal dance and Twilight and Spike’s third day in the human world (their last chance to return home before the portal closed). The students were sitting down to lunch in the cafeteria. It was then that the group of friends put their plan into action. They started making improvised music with lunch trays. Spike also subtly clicked on a music player that was plugged into a corner. Music that was specially made for the routine started to play and the girls began to sing. Ashleigh, Roxy, Pinkie, Fauna, and Rachael all started.

“Hey, hey, everybody~
We’ve got something to say~
We may seem as different~
As the night is from day~

But, you’ll look a little deeper~
And you will see~
That I’m just like you~
And you’re just like me~
Yeah~!

Hey, hey, everybody,
We’re here to shout~
That the magic of friendship~
Is what it’s all about~

Yeah, we thought we were different~
As the night is from the day~
Until Twilight Sparkle~
Helped us see another way~

So get up, get down~
If you’re gonna come around~
We can work together~
Helping Twilight win the crown~
So, get up, get down~
Cuz it’s gonna make a sound~
If we work together~
Helping Twilight Sparkle win the crown~!”

Pinkie sang her own verse.

“Hey, hey, hands up now~
We’re sending a message to the crowd~
Hands wave up, then come down~
We party together all around~!”

Rachael then sang, “Generous, honesty~”

Ashleigh followed up in tune by singing, “Laughter, kindness, loyalty~”

Fauna added, “Twilight helped us each to see~”

Roxy added in, “All that we can be~!”

They all joined in again.

“So get up, get down~
If you’re gonna come around~
We can work together~
Helping Twilight win the crown~
So, get up, get down~
Cuz it’s gonna make a sound~
If we work together~
Helping Twilight Sparkle win the crown~!”

Pinkie and Rachel opened the cafeteria doors and allowed Twilight inside, wearing the Canterlot Wondercolt swag. That was when Twilight finally joined in.

“I’m gonna be myself~
No matter what I do~
And if you’re different~
Yeah, I want you to be true to you~

If you follow me~
We’ll put our differences aside~
We’ll stick together~
And start working on that school pride~!”

At that point, the song became so infectious, all the students (with one notable exception) joined in.

“Jump up, make a sound~ (Hey!)
Stomp your hooves, turn around~
Stop now, make a change~
Gonna come around~

Jump up, make a sound~ (Hey!)
Stomp your hooves, turn around~
Canterlot Wondercolts~
Help her win the crown~!”

Susan, who was stepping outside the cafeteria with her sidekicks, grew annoyed as the song continued in the background. She noticed they were wearing ears and tails as well.

“Take those damn things off!” she demanded. Then, with a wicked smile, she added, “I have something more important I need you to do.”

“Get Karen to speak up against her?” Skip asked.

“No,” Susan said. “That ornery bitch’s words won’t mean much at this point.” She then whispered her actual plan to them.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Be honest, that's totally in-character for her.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 12: A Frame and a Flash

The six girls looked at all the students wearing ears and tails.

“Well,” Rachael said. “We’ve convinced the vast majority. Though, there’s still a tiny issue.” She groaned. “Karen.”

“Karen?” Twilight asked.

The other four girls looked equally displeased.

“Her,” Roxy said grimly.

"What's wrong with her?" Twilight asked.

“She’s a bit of a…” Fauna said, trying to find the right words.

“Ornery bitch?” Ashleigh added.

“Yes, that,” Fauna nodded.

“What’s so bad about her?” Twilight asked.

“Get off the table, you foreign dipsh*t!” a grating valleygirl voice shouted.

“Karen?” Twilight asked on a hunch.

“Karen,” the other five girls confirmed flatly.

The owner of the voice was a white-skinned girl with blonde hair and purple eyes wearing a white tank top similar to Fauna’s, khaki shorts, white socks, and pink tennis shoes.*

“Don’t make me report you to Vice Principal Luna about this!” she snapped.

“Go ahead, Karen,” challenged a jock**. “We could use a laugh when she throws you out like a drunk gets thrown out of the bar again.”

“Excuse me?!” Karen gasped. “I am feeling so attacked right now! You are attacking me!”

“Is she always like that?” Twilight asked.

“She’s the only student more entitled than Susan,” Rachael said.

“Oh, dear,” Twilight said nervously.

“Luckily,” Roxy said. “There’s one way to convince her. Reminding her that the alternative is Susan Shoichet.”

“How am I going to do that?” Twilight asked.

“Watch and learn,” Pinkie said before facing Karen. “HEY!” she shouted. “YOUR OPTIONS ARE SUSAN SHOICHET OR TWILIGHT SPARKLE! MAKE YOUR CHOICE, BITCH!”

“What?!” Karen snapped. “Someone else is running against Susan Shoichet? Good God, it’s about time some pussy got the nerve!”

“Was she not listening?” Twilight asked, bewildered.

“Karen called the police over a cashier at a restaurant asking if they could take her order,” Roxy answered. “‘Nuff said.”

“She had only just come back to school today,” Rachael added. “As a minor, the harshest judicial punishment she can receive is a ten-day suspension.”

“Oh, my,” Twilight said. “Are there other people like her?”

“Too many ta count in this city alone,” Ashleigh answered. However, as the girls carried on, they noticed Susan walking down the hall from the opposite direction. She had a cocky look on her face as she looked back. “Ah don’t know what she’s smilin’ ‘bout, but, ah got a bad feelin’ ‘bout that.”

Susan then walked over to an office door and gave it a polite knock. Opening the door from the inside is a woman with long purplish-blue hair, light purple skin, a purple blouse with a white collar and a darker purple belt, dark blue slacks, and purple and white shoes.

“Make this quick, Miss Shoichet,” she said. “I’ve already received ten reports from Miss Karen Onn.***”

“What I have is much worse than Karen’s complaints, Vice Principal Luna,” Susan said, feigning innocence. She presented Vice Principal Luna with pictures of what appears to be Twilight destroying the decorations in the gym. The older woman looked at the pictures with clear skepticism. “I don’t understand why Twilight Sparkle would do such a horrible thing. After all of the hard work that Pinkie Pie put into making the gym look so amazing, Twilight did this truly awful thing with little regard.”

“I will look into this matter at once,” the older woman said. “I expect both you and her in my office.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Susan said, feigning sweetness.

Twilight could hear all that was happening and she nervously approached. The two girls were then seated before Vice Principal Luna’s desk. Twilight noticed a small plush dog of a familiar design. Vice Principal Luna spread out the photographs on her desk.

“Miss Sparkle,” the older woman asked calmly. “Do you have any explanation for these pictures?”

“I…” Twilight stammered. “I don’t understand. That looks like when I was playing soccer with Roxy Dodgers, but, I didn’t destroy the decorations.”

“And Miss Shoichet,” Luna continued. “You seem to have experienced a lapse in your intellect.”

Susan looked confused. “What do you mean? I’m only trying to do the right thing for our school.”

“Well,” Luna explained. “I find it rather suspicious that while you were supposedly present to take these photos, you made no attempts to stop what was happening after the measures you went through to ensure you became Princess of the Fall Formal.”****

Susan gulped uneasily. Sh*t, she thought to herself. I didn’t think of that.

As Vice Principal Luna spoke to the girls, there was another knock on the office door.

“Enter,” Vice Principal Luna said.

Entering was Flynn with photograph scraps in his hand.

“Sorry to disturb you, ma’am,” Flynn said. “But, I found these in the school library’s wastebasket and I thought I should bring this to your attention.” He presented the pictures and they were the background shots from when Twilight was playing soccer. Twilight’s pictures were cut out and had been taped onto the pictures of destruction happening in the gym’s decorations. Vice Principal Luna aligned them with the likeness of Twilight in the photos Susan gave her and found they were a perfect match.

“Thank you for your efforts, Flynn,” Vice Principal Luna smiled. “Susan Shoichet, for your efforts to frame Twilight, you are no longer eligible to run for the Princess of the Fall Formal and must serve detention for the remainder of the school day.”*****

“WHAT?!” Susan exclaimed.

“Would you prefer that I bar you from the dance entirely?” The vice principal asked sternly. Susan knew that if that were to happen, her plan would be ruined beyond salvation and reluctantly subsided. “That is as I thought. Unfortunately, due to all of the damage that has been done, the Fall Formal must be postponed until tomorrow night.”

That wasn’t a statement that Twilight wished to hear.

“Oh, no!” Twilight gasped. She then ran out of Vice Principal Luna’s office, taking Spike with her. “By then, it’ll be too late!”

“Twilight!” Flynn called. But, Twilight was so distraught and too far out of earshot that she didn't hear Flynn’s voice.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Imagine her voiced by Kathleen Barr.

**That'd be Human!Caramel (aka Carter New).

***Full name a reference to how Karens carry on.

****Adaptational intelligence FTW!

*****Adaptational karma.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 13: The Truth About Equestria

Making her way to Carousel Boutique was a figure wearing a full-head helmet and an outfit that covered all of her skin. Following her secretly was a familiar red bird. She saw Twilight and Spike rush in as they passed by her friends, who were looking at dresses and shoes for the Fall Formal and hid inside a dressing room. Her friends noticed.

“Twilight?” Rachael asked. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Twilight lied as she slumped down. Speaking soft enough so that only Spike could hear her, she said, “Except that everything is not okay… not okay at all. If I don’t get my crown back tonight, I could be away from Equestria for another thirty moons. What am I going to do?”

Spike looked around and made gestures to cover spots on and around the door that his voice could potentially get through. Twilight caught these signals and covered them with various articles of clothing that were on the “return” rack. Once the spots were covered, Spike spoke in a volume that only Twilight could hear. “You have to tell them the truth,” he said. “Let them know what’s really at stake. They can help you figure something out.”

“But, what if they don’t?” Twilight asked. “What if they find out just how different I really am…?”

“These girls followed you because they saw what was in your heart,” Spike said soothingly. “They aren’t going to feel any differently about you when they find out you’re really a pony from Equestria. You always told me that others should be judged by their actions, not how they look or where they’re from. After all, you let me into your life when nopony else would and that’s how I lived as long as I have.”

Twilight took in Spike’s wise words and gradually, she began to feel better. She then affectionately hugged him. “I’m really glad you followed me and decided to stay by my side.”

“I couldn’t leave you if you paid me,” Spike said.

Twilight then took a deep breath, stood up, and she walked out of the dressing room, facing her human friends. She noticed the disguised figure standing by the door nearby, but, shook the distraction from her head.

“Are ya okay?” Ashleigh asked with concern in her voice.

“The Fall Formal isn’t happening tonight,” Twilight explained.

“WHAT?!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“It had to be postponed because Susan, Skip, and Sheldon destroyed Pinkie’s decorations,” Twilight continued.

“Eh, that doesn’t really surprise me,” Pinkie said before realizing what was said. “I mean, WHAT?!”

“But,” Twilight resumed. “The Fall Formal must happen tonight.”

“You seem rather determined,” Rachael commented. “Why?”

Before Twilight had a chance to explain, Pinkie spoke up.

“I think it’s because…” Pinkie said, taking a deep breath. “You’re from another universe and you’re really a pony princess in that universe, and the crown actually has a magical element embedded into it, and it helps to power up other magical elements, and without it, there’s no magic anymore, and if you don’t get the crown back tonight, you’ll be stuck in this world and you won't be able to get back for like a really, really, really long time! Right?”

Twilight, Spike, the disguised figure (though it was hard to tell with her face being covered), and the bird all went slack-jawed at Pinkie’s surprisingly accurate theory while the other humans looked at Pinkie as if she was insane.

“Yeah,” Roxy spoke up, finding the idea hard to believe. “I’m pretty sure that isn’t the reason.”

“No,” Spike said. “She’s pretty much spot-on.”

The other girls were surprised and aghast to hear Spike’s speaking, none more so than Rachael.

“He can talk?!” she gasped.

“That’s right,” Spike said. “Where I come from, I’m not even a dog. I’m actually a fire-breathing dragon.”

Fauna gasped happily. “This is so wonderful!” She then knelt down closer to Spike. “Please, tell me, what are you thinking right now?”

“Before I can answer that,” Spike said. “I have a question of my own. Did you by any chance almost get eaten by a dragon when you were younger and become afraid of them ever since?”

“No,” Fauna explained. “Because I’m afraid dragons don’t really exist. Well, at least not outside of books, tv, movies, comics, or video games. The closest thing I’ve seen to a real dragon is a Komodo dragon and they’re not big enough to fit a human in their mouths.”

“Good to know,” Spike sighed. “So, me being a dragon isn’t an issue for you?”

“Absolutely not,” Fauna answered truthfully. “I read that Japanese and Chinese cultures respect dragons, seeing them as deities that look out for smaller creatures.”

“Those sound like some of the Longryus that I met some time ago,” Spike said.

“Longryus?” Fauna inquired.

“Hold up,” Roxy said. “How do we know this is even real? How do we know we’re not all hallucinating?”

“You’re not hallucinating, Rainbow Dash,” the figure said in a modulated voice. “All of this is true.”

Roxy gasped as she and the other human girls turned to face the costumed figure.

“Whoa!” Roxy exclaimed. “How did we not notice you here? And how do you know my nickname?”

The figure looked from side to side before replying, “Why wouldn’t I know your nickname?” She then removed her helmet to reveal the face of Sunset Shimmer. The human girls weren’t sure it was truly her until she showed them her student ID card.

“Sunset!” the human girls exclaimed happily.

“Where were you all this time?” Roxy asked.

“Susan had been slipping Essence of Lavender in my morning tea,” Sunset explained. “But, after I developed an immunity to it, I decided to hide so that Susan wouldn’t find out. I’m sorry I couldn’t approach any of you.”

“Essence of Lavender?” Rachael asked.

“Essence of Lavender is a potent ingredient in sleeping potions in our world,” Twilight explained. “One drop can knock anyone who consumes it out for eight hours straight. But, if doses aren't taken at least a week apart from each other, the consumer steadily builds a tolerance to it.”

“Princess Celestia taught you well, Twilight,” Sunset said.

“Wait,” Roxy said. “How do you know it’s true?”

Sunset took a deep breath. “Because I come from the same world,” she answered. “Same as Phoebe.”

“The only thing I don’t understand is,” Twilight said to Pinkie. “How did you know that that’s what I was going through?”

“Just a hunch,” Pinkie said with a smile.

Ashleigh was the first to try and make sense of the new information. “So, let me get this straight,” she said. “Y’all n’ Sunset r’ both ponies?”

“Yep,” Sunset nodded.

“You’re both princesses?” Rachael asked.

“No,” Sunset corrected. “Only Twilight’s the princess. Apparently.*”

“And you’re both from another world?” Fauna asked.

“Yes,” Twilight nodded.

“That,” Roxy said. “Actually explains a lot. But, hearing all of this now, I got to say that that is… AWESOME!”

“Ah still don’t completely understand this,” Ashleigh admitted. “But, ah still want ta help ya get the crown, Twi.”

“Sunset,” Rachael asked. “In your world, could Phoebe talk?”

“Not unless you count chirps, tweets, squawks, and other bird noises,” Sunset answered. “Though, she is different in the other world.”

“We can talk about universal differences later,” Pinkie said. “We’ve got to do what we can to clean up the decorations! And this way, I’ll really see your skills in action, Rachael.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help directly, girls,” Sunset lamented. “Susan could see me.”

“You already have, Sunset,” Twilight said. “You were the one to make sure I could run for Princess of the Fall Formal by giving me that Transfer Student ID card and you vouched for me when it came to my story.”

“One thing still puzzles me, though,” Sunset said. “The fact that Susan went through the effort to get a magical relic from another world. Sure, I told her information about my world, which I kept in…” Sunset then had a look of realization on her face. “My research!” She quickly put the helmet back on and made a run for her place.**

“Um,” Fauna said in confusion at Sunset’s sudden departure. “Goodbye?”

“Anyway,” Rachael said. “We should go and see the damage that Susan has done.”

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Makes sense for Sunset to not fully know that.

**It was at that point that Sunset figured out Susan's plan.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 14: A Chance for the Dance

So, the six girls and one dog made it back to the school’s gym. It looked as if a wild party had already happened.

“Boy howdy,” Ashleigh said, looking over the damage. “Susan, Skip, n’ Sheldon really did a number on this place.”

“All of my hard work!” Pinkie wailed. “If only I had some sort of party cannon that could decorate everything super-duper fast!” Twilight decided to leave out the fact that Pinkie’s Equestria counterpart has such a cannon.

“I know it seems like a lot of hard work,” Twilight said. “But, if we all worked together, the work would get done faster.”

“That’s the kind o’ can-do attitude ah’m lookin’ fer from a Fall Formal Princess,” Ashleigh smiled. She then extended her right hand out. “Let’s do it, y’all!”

“Absolutely!” Rachael said, putting her right hand on top of Ashleigh’s.

“Rock on!” Roxy said, putting her own right hand on top of Rachael’s.

“Yes, indeedily!” Pinkie said, putting her right hand on top of Roxy’s.

“Yay~” Fauna softly cheered, putting her left hand on top of Pinkie’s.

Twilight then put her own right hand on top of Fauna’s. They then lifted their hands in a celebratory manner. Ashleigh then got out cleaning supplies from the janitor closet close by. Some of the girls grabbed mops, some grabbed brooms. It took a lot of hard work from the six girls, but, soon, the gym was clean. Even Spike helped out however he could. He quickly found it awkward to use a broom as a dog, but, Fauna and Rachael helped him out. As they started to decorate, other students took notice and decided to pitch in. With everyone’s hard work, the gym looked beautiful and new friendships were formed with students meeting outside of their cliques.

In detention, Susan was scolding Skip and Sheldon.

“You’re goddamn lucky they were able to pull this off!” Susan snapped in stage-whisper. “I need this night to go on tonight just as much as she does.”

“You’re the one who had the idea in the first place,” Skip pointed out.

“Do you want me to beat you again?!” Susan snapped, threatening to hit Skip. The short boy cowered. “That’s what I thought.”

None of them knew that they were being observed by a freshman boy with pale red skin, brown hair, a mustard yellow sweater over an orange collared shirt with a yellow necktie, purple pants, and blue shoes. His sweater had a patch with a puppy dog on it. This was Skip and Sheldon’s brother, Tyler.* He carefully listened to what Susan was saying and recorded it with his phone.

“Now,” he said. “I have to get this to Sunset.”

Then, Principal Celeste and Vice Principal Luna saw the efforts of the students and the gym’s decorations.

“Well done, everyone,” Principal Celeste smiled. “The gym looks amazing.”

“Thanks to all of your hard work,” Vice Principal Luna added. “The Fall Formal is back on for tonight!”

“Yes,” Principal Celeste said. “So, you all had better get out of here so you can get ready.”

While Twilight and her human friends went to Rachael’s place to get ready for the Fall Formal, Sunset (dressed in a teal blue blouse with a black pleather jacket with orange decals, blue jeans, and gray, black, and orange high heeled boots) was at her and Susan’s shared place and looking through various files, which she found had been written over. From the look of horror on her face, it was obvious they weren’t her additions. Phoebe, who followed her back, looked similarly distressed. At that point, she heard a knock at the door. It was a secret knock shared between her and Tyler. She let Tyler in.

“Any news?” Sunset asked.

Tyler played the audio recording of Susan’s plan.

“That crown will give me power and influence beyond this school,” the recording said. “And I’m not going to let that princess wannabe f*ck it up for me now!”

“Oh, no…” Sunset gasped. “What have I done?! Had I known Susan was going to do this, I would have never told her about my home.”

“I’m guessing this is a bad situation?” Tyler guessed.

“It’s very bad, Tyler,” Sunset confirmed. “Susan’s trying to mess with something she doesn’t completely understand and that’s never a good idea. What’s worse, I gave her the information to act on it!”

“That is a problem,” Tyler said. “But, much like how Twilight and her friends have started the efforts of cleaning the gym for the dance, there are ways to make this situation right, aren’t there?”

“Help me pack up my research,” Sunset said with determination. “I’ve been on the sidelines long enough.”

“You got it,” Tyler nodded.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter. Yeah, it's short, but, take it or leave it.

*Human!Tails revealed!

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 15: The Canterlot High School Coronation

That night, students gathered back to school for the Fall Formal. They were dressed in their best attire. The girls and Spike took a limousine, courtesy of Rachael. After they exited and made their way to the entrance, Flynn made his way to Twilight.

“Flynn!” Twilight said once she saw him. “I wanted to say thank you for your help earlier today, but, I was so worried that the Fall Formal wasn’t going to happen tonight that I ran off without thinking.”

“I’m glad to help and don’t worry about it,” Flynn said. “Would you like to dance with me tonight?”

Twilight found herself tongue-tied. After she had a moment of clarity, she cleared her throat and said, “Yes.”

Flynn grinned. The girls all giggled and began to whisper to one another.

Inside the Fall Formal, students were dancing happily. Though, Twilight couldn’t help but wonder and worry about Susan.

“Has anybody seen Susan?” she asked Roxy, trying to make her voice heard over the loud music.

“Maybe she’s too embarrassed to show,” Roxy answered. “Since you’re the only one in the running now, she figured why bother?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Twilight said, biting her lip. She wished she felt as confident about winning as Roxy.

A short time later, Principal Celeste took the stage and spoke into a microphone. The music was lowered so her voice could be heard.

“I want to thank all of you for coming to this year’s Fall Formal,” she announced. “All of you have done such an incredible job fixing things up in here after the disastrous incident that occurred earlier. Now, it is my great honor to announce this year’s Princess of the Fall Formal. Your Fall Formal Princess is… Twilight Sparkle!”

The students cheered loudly. Twilight smiled modestly as she walked onto the stage. Vice Principal Luna opened a storage box and Principal Celeste took the crown out of it. She then placed it on Twilight’s head and it shimmered brilliantly. The second it touched her hair, Twilight felt an instant wave of relief wash over her. Everypony was going to be safe now. She would go back through the portal tonight and home to Equestria as planned. Harmony would be restored. But, the good feelings didn’t last for long.

“Help!” Spike cried.

Twilight turned her attention to Spike’s voice. She could see the dog being wrangled by Skip and Sheldon, who, for the Fall Formal, were dressed in a t-shirt with a tuxedo print, blue jeans, and sneakers and a bowtie over his shirt respectively. Seeing Spike being taken away against his will caused her maternal instincts to kick in.

“They got Spike!” Twilight yelled, running off of the stage to catch up to Skip and Sheldon. Twilight’s human friends sensed the distress and followed after her. Once in the hallway, Twilight’s motherly protectiveness over Spike caused her to blurt out the first thing that came to her head. “Get your hands off my son!”

“What did she say?” Sheldon asked.

“Just keep running!” Skip commanded. “She’s trying to confuse us!”

“Well, it’s working,” Sheldon said.

Skip and Sheldon kept running until they met up with Susan. She was waiting for them and Twilight with a sledgehammer.

“That’s close enough, bitch,” Susan said.

Twilight looked to Spike, seeing him look more scared than she’d ever seen him.

“Mama!” Spike cried out.

“Don’t hurt him!” Twilight ordered Susan.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, Twilight,” Susan said. “I’m not a monster.”

“That’s a matter of perspective, Susan,” called a familiar voice. All the girls directed their attention to see the owner of the voice, who was holding Spike in her arms with the human boys unconscious on the ground. It was none other than Sunset Shimmer.

“Sunset!” Twilight called with a smile. “Oh, thank you! You’re a lifesaver!”

“What the f*ck?!” Susan exclaimed. “But, how?! I thought I gave you the Essence of Lavender in your tea this morning!”

“That’s the thing,” Sunset said. “You did. I’ve gained an immunity to it.”

“WHAT?!” Susan exclaimed.

“It’s called the tolerance effect,” Sunset explained as she took Spike to Twilight. “If doses aren't taken at least a week apart from each other, the consumer steadily builds a tolerance to it. You’ve been giving me a dose every morning for a whole year.”

Susan stammered with ever growing frustration. But, she then took a deep breath and spoke to Twilight. “This changes nothing. You don’t belong here, Twilight. Neither do you, Sunset. Give me the crown and you can go back to Equestria tonight. Or, you can keep it and never go home.”

Sunset faced Susan defiantly. “If I had known you would use my research in such a way, I would have destroyed it myself!”

“Choose your next words carefully, Sunset,” Susan taunted. “You see what I’m about to do, don’t you?”

“You’re bluffing, Susan,” Sunset said, reaching for a nearby rock. “If you tried with the portal still open, it would just enter Equestria.” To prove her point, Sunset threw the rock at the portal as hard as she could. The rock disappeared, but, the wall on the statue base had no visible damage.

“It went right through!” Rachael said.

Meanwhile, in Equestria, Rainbow was pacing in front of the Crystal Mirror when suddenly, the rock Sunset through flew out and hit her in the side of the head.*

“Ow!” Rainbow yelped. “Who threw that?!”

Back in the human world, Sunset looked determined.

“So, you better back off!” she snapped at Susan.

Susan grunted in anger. “At this point it doesn’t matter if you fall for my bluff or not! In less than an hour, the portal will close on its own!” In her anger, she tried to attack them with the hammer. However, Sunset used the extendable golf club she was carrying in her jacket’s inner pocket to block the strike. “What the hell are you doing?!” Susan demanded.

“Something I should have done a long time ago!” Sunset answered. “Standing up to you!”**

With a single swing of her golf club, Sunset managed to disarm Susan of her sledgehammer.

“You are never going to get this crown, Susan,” Twilight said sternly. “It rightfully belongs to me and my friends and I will ensure that it stays on my head. You captured my son and let me tell you, I’m this close to F*CKING YOU!!!”

That outburst caused all but Pinkie (who cocked an eyebrow with a smug grin) to look at her with expressions that said, “What did she just say?”

“Well…” said a flustered Rachael. “This got somewhat interesting.”

“Uh, Twi,” Roxy whispered to Twilight. “You’re supposed to add an ‘up’ to the end of that.”

“Why would that make a difference?” Twilight asked. Roxy whispered the explanation in Twilight’s ear, leaving the purple girl to blush. “Oh…”***

Out of everything I was expecting to happen, Susan thought to herself. That wasn’t on the list.

“You’ve lost, Susan,” Sunset said.

“Like hell!” Susan said before tackling Twilight to the ground.

“Oof!” Twilight interjected.

Sunset managed to kick Susan off Twilight while Spike ran off with the crown in his teeth. At that point, Skip and Sheldon regained consciousness.

“Don’t listen to her, brothers,” Tyler said.

“Tyler!” Skip exclaimed. “We were just doing this for you!”

“Yeah!” Sheldon exclaimed. “She was saying that your grades were going to get lower!”

“I’ve been onto her from the start,” Tyler said. “I’ve been working behind the scenes to get you out of her service.”

“Get the damn dog, you idiots!” Susan shouted.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Roxy yelled. “Pass it to me, Spike!”

Spike did so just as he saw Susan’s shadow creeping over him.

“Don’t worry, Twi!” Roxy called. “I’ll get this back to you!”

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” Skip said, intercepting Roxy.

“Uh, what do we have to say about it?” Sheldon asked obliviously.

“Fauna, catch!” Roxy called, seeing Fauna. She tossed the crown to her and Fauna caught it.

Fauna began shaking timidly as she saw Susan coming straight for her. However, Ashleigh pulled a lasso out of her dress pocket and twirled it, snagging the crown out of Fauna’s hands. Pinkie quickly caught it. As Skip and Sheldon charged after her, Phoebe flew in circles around them until they bumped into each other. Susan took notice.

“Ugh!” she groaned. “I hate that damn bird!” She spotted another small stone. She grinned before picking it up and throwing it a Phoebe. “Eat sh*t, you glorified pigeon!”

Phoebe saw the rock coming and caught it with her talons before throwing it safely to the side. She then divebombed towards Susan, causing the human to jump out of the way.

“Good girl, Phoebe!” Sunset praised the red bird.

After what was essentially an elaborate game of keep away, the crown ended up in Susan’s hands.

“I’ll take that!” she declared.

“Susan, don’t!” Sunset pleaded. “You don't know what it'll do!”

Susan gave a deranged grin. “That's rich coming from you! You came to this world to avoid the consequences of your failures in making your own Elements of Harmony.”

“I've come to realize I was wrong,” Sunset responded. “I've been running for the last three years. That ends tonight!” She charged at Susan, but, was too late to stop her from donning the crown. Upon doing so, Sunset was blown back by a burst of energy that erupted from Susan. “Dark magic!” she gasped as Susan screamed in sheer agony.

The dark magic pulled Susan up by a pillar of light as dark rings swirled around her. Susan was overwhelmed by the power of the magic as a strange metamorphosis overcame her. When the pillar of light died down, the sight that remained was terrifying.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*

**Amphibia reference FTW!

***Hazbin Hotel reference.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 16: The True Colors of Susan

Susan was completely unrecognizable. Her red and gold hair was upright, her skin became a devilish red, her clothes became a fiery dress and black boots, a long horse-like tail was even visible, on her back were demonic red and black wings, her hands went from five normal fingers to four sharp, clawed digits, and on her forehead was a gnarled horn. Her mouth even had a set of fangs and her ears were pointed. She retained her wicked smile even after wincing in pain as blood trickled out of her mouth. Everyone below her gasped in horror.

*

“What happened to her?!” Rachael exclaimed.

“The contents of her heart were amplified by the Element of Magic, turning her into a demon!” Sunset explained. “The transformation's taken a toll on her body! If she stays like this, Susan could–”

Spike realized the gravity of the situation. “Susan could die!”**

“What will we do?!” Fauna asked worriedly. “Susan did a lot of bad things, but, even she doesn’t deserve this!”

Susan, using dark magic, transformed Skip and Sheldon into demons as well. Transformation aside, they didn’t seem to be in the same mortal peril as Susan.

“This is going to be so cool!” Skip said excitedly.

“Skip, Sheldon!” Tyler exclaimed. “This is wrong!”

Susan then took notice of the students hiding inside the school. After a wince of pain, she landed before the front doors.

“I’ve had to jump through so many f*cking hoops tonight,” Susan said in a low and threatening voice. “Just to get my hands on this goddamn crown and it really should have been mine all along! But, let us let bygones be bygones. After all, I am your mother-f*cking queen now and you will bow down to ME!” Her clawed hand glowed with dark magic before she winced in pain as the sound of bones breaking could be heard. Despite the pain, she clenched her fist and made the entire front of the school crumble open.

“It’s worse than I thought!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Susan’s not just wrecking the school,” Roxy said. “She’s wrecking her own body, too!”

“Further use of dark magic will cause more harm to her body!” Sunset said. “At this rate, there won’t be anything left of her to save in less than 10 minutes!”

With another wince of pain and after coughing up some blood, Susan hypnotized the students before cackling wickedly. The students groaned and moaned like zombies, slowly walking about with vacant glowing green eyes.

“Round them up and bring them to the portal,” Susan ordered Skip and Sheldon. She then faced the others. “Sunset was right about the fact that I was bluffing about destroying the portal. I don’t want to run this pathetic-ass high school. I want Equestria! With my own teenage army, I will have it!”

“No!” Sunset cried. “I’m not going to let Equestria pay for my mistakes!”

“We will do whatever it takes to stop you!” Twilight said bravely.

Susan grunted as her eyes started to bleed a little through her tear ducts, but, kept up her strong appearance.

“Oh, please!” she said. “What the hell can you do?! I have magic and you...have…” She then made her hair flare up like fire. “NOTHING!”

“They have us!” Roxy said, stepping forward. The other human friends stepped forward as well.

Susan ignored her and grabbed Sunset before starting to squeeze her. “And you, dear Sunset,” she mocked. “I have you to thank for all of this.” She then taunted the girls by using Sunset as a meat shield. “And girls, if you want to get through to me, you'll have to hurt her in the process~.”

Sunset bravely spoke up. “Don't worry about me! Just find a way to purify her body while you still can!”

“Purify me?” Susan laughed. “That'll be hard to do!” She began forming a dark magic blast from the crown. “Especially when Twilight's nothing but a scorch mark on the ground! Now...DIE!!!”

Susan fired the dark magic blast and she cackled wickedly for her victory. But, when the smoke cleared, she could see that Twilight was still intact. In fact, she and the other girls were huddled together and surrounding them was a familiar magenta magic aura. Twilight, realizing that she and her friends were safe, was able to smile.

“The magic contained in my Element was able to unite with those who helped create it!” she said. At that moment, the other girls exposed to the magic felt a strange sensation. They slowly levitated in the air and one by one, they gained little pony ears and their hair lengthened to resemble a pony’s tail. In order, it focused on the girl who was a counterpart of a pony and their signature element. It started with Ashleigh.

“Honesty!” Twilight’s voice said. Afterwards, Fauna gained wings on her back in addition to the pony ears and lengthened hair. “Kindness!” Pinkie was next and she happily cartwheeled after discovering her ponytail. “Laughter!” Rachael, in addition to the ears and ponytail, gained an alabaster white horn on her forehead.*** “Generosity!” Roxy gained a sleek pair of sky blue wings in addition to her pony ears and tail. “Loyalty!” Finally, Twilight herself got her alicorn horn, wings, ears, and ponytail. “Magic!”

Once Twilight transformed, Sunset’s pant pocket began emitting a magical glow that she was the first to notice.

“What?” Sunset asked. She touched Susan’s arm and her eyes began to glow pure white. Sunset then underwent a similar transformation to the other girls. Her hair lengthened, a horn protruded from her forehead, and, bizarrely enough, her entire wardrobe changed. She wore a hot pink dress, her skirt changed to an orange base with splashes of golden yellow, hot pink, and a gold yellow and red sun, and sparkling black and hot pink boots.****

“What?!” Susan exclaimed as Sunset freed herself and levitated to the other girls.

“Before we do anything else,” Rachael spoke up. “I just have to ask: How did her clothes change with her?”

“That’s not important now!” Sunset said. “I’ve heard Susan’s voice calling for help! She’s running out of time!”

“Together with the crown,” Twilight said to Susan. “They create a power beyond anything you can imagine, but, it is a power that you do not have the ability to control! The crown may be upon your head, Susan Shoichet, but, you cannot wield it, because you do not possess the most powerful magic of all… the Magic of Friendship!” Twilight and the other girls ascended, positioned in the shape of a heart, while Sunset created an energy construct in the shape of a phoenix. The combined energies shot at Susan in a rainbow of fiery colors.

Susan exclaimed as the magical energy enshrouded her. “What is happening?!” The colors enveloped her in a tornado as Twilight's eyes glowed white. Instead of giving Susan a burning sensation, instead, it was a pleasant warm feeling as if she was being embraced in a heated blanket.

“Here and in Equestria,” Twilight said. “It is the only magic that can truly unite us all!”

The phoenix soared through the air, cleansing the boys transformed by dark magic while the rainbow magic undid the hypnosis the students were under. Suddenly, there was a brilliant white light and Susan was soon found in a crater, removed from her transformation and the crown was off of her head.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter.

*Image commissioned by me, done by Zanvox on DA.

**Raised stakes.

***That's in the original book.

****Imagine this with a horn on the forehead:

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

UPDATE 11/8/2024: Added Demon!Susan image.

Chapter 17: After the Sun Sets

After the blinding flash, the girls were all lying down on the ground. Twilight stirred when Spike licked her cheek. She got up and saw the other girls, who slowly came around. She also picked up Spike and gave him a gentle yet loving hug. Phoebe landed near Sunset and nuzzled her, causing the transformed girl to stir. Sunset warmly embraced the red bird, who used her wings to reciprocate.

“What happened?” Fauna asked.

They then noticed the crater Susan was lying in as the smoke cleared, revealing Susan reverted back to her true form with a small bit of blood underneath her.

“Susan!” Sunset exclaimed before jumping into the crater and going to the purified human’s side before helping her up. Susan coughed blood while shedding large amounts of tears from her eyes.

“I…” Susan began before crying. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

“Save your energy, Susan,” Sunset said calmly. “We’ve freed you from the majority of the dark magic, but, a small portion still lingers. The damage to your body is still there.”

Sunset gently held onto Susan, helping her out of the crater.

“You were really kind to help Susan, Sunset,” Fauna said.

“It wasn’t only kindness,” Twilight explained. “Sunset displayed Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”*

Sunset spoke to the other girls. “The Magic of Friendship cured her, but, this is a temporary solution. Unless she continues to receive a steady supply of it, Susan won’t survive the week.”

“I guess I’m as good as dead,” Susan sniffled mournfully. “In all of the time that I’ve been in high school, I haven’t made an actual friend.”

“Girls, listen,” Sunset said. “I understand that you may have personal grudges against Susan for what she’s done, but, let me ask you, do you genuinely believe she deserves to die for what she did?”

They all agreed that it would be too extreme for her to die.

"Then,” Sunset continued. “You’ll need to make an effort to put your grudges aside and be her friend until she’s stable enough to survive on her own. Whether or not you continue to be her friend afterwards is up to you.”

So, they came forward and comforted Susan.

“It’s going to be okay,” Fauna said.

Spike couldn’t resist cheering.

“Those are my girls!” he said happily.

“Whoa,” said a bystanding boy in surprise. “I thought I heard an unfamiliar voice, but, it came from that dog? Radical.”

Spike was rather incredulous. “You saw three students turn into demons, seven more use magic, a phoenix made of light, and the talking dog is what gets commented on?”

“I, for one,” Rachael said, picking up Spike gently. “Think that you’re wonderful and adorable.” She gave him an affectionate scratch behind the ear.

Just then, Principal Celeste walked up to Twilight with the crown.

“I believe this belongs to you,” she said. “A true princess in this or any world doesn’t force others to bow before her, but, inspire others to stand with her. You have proved to be just such that.” Celeste then noticed that Sunset had the familiar intimidated expression she always wore around her. “Why so worried, Miss Shimmer?”

“You remind me of my mentor from Twilight’s world,” Sunset admitted with worry in her voice. “I came to this world three years ago after failure upon failure of an experiment of mine. I was afraid that my mentor would disown me for my failures.”

“Had you spoken with her in person about your concerns?” Principal Celeste asked gently.

“I was under the impression that she already knew,” Sunset confessed. “Since she sent another of her students to punish my failures. I kept a list of all the ways she did so.” She presented a scroll and let it unroll, revealing it to be several feet long. This shocked all present, even Susan.**

“What?!” Principal Celeste said aghast. “That is abhorrent. But, let me ask you this. If I was like this mentor of yours, have you known me to send a student to punish another student?”

“Well…” Sunset considered. “No.”

“A real mentor would listen to their students,” Principal Celeste advised. “And if there are any real failures, she would have helped you learn through them so you can learn from your mistakes. She wouldn’t have given you any forceful punishment like this. I can understand being afraid, but, does running away from your problems feel like the best way to solve them?”

“No,” Sunset answered. “After what happened tonight, I realized that I made a bigger problem by bringing magic to a world that’s not ready to handle it.”

“I’m proud to have you in my student body,” Principal Celeste said kindly. “And I’m glad you were able to make friends here. But, I advise that you go back and face your problems with your mentor head on.”

“I will,” Sunset said. “And I’m taking all the research I brought with me so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands again.”

“We will miss you here at CHS,” Principal Celeste said. “But, I think you’ll find that you’ve made the right decision.”

“Can’t we have one last dance with her to see her off?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight looked up at the moon and the stars. Since she noticed there was still time before the portal closed, Twilight allowed it.

Author's Note

Here's the next chapter. Yes, it's another short one.

*FORESHADOWING!!!

**Everybody has standards.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Chapter 18: Back to Equestria

Once the dancing was done, Rachael handed Sunset a wrapped box.

“What’s this?” Sunset asked.

“A little something that the girls and I wanted to give you for your birthday,” Rachael explained. “Unfortunately, you were missing all year. You can use it to remember us until we hopefully meet again.”

Sunset opened the present and saw that it was… “An iPad?!” she exclaimed. “Thanks, girls! This is so thoughtful!” She hugged them gratefully.

“Twilight, Spike!” Pinkie called. “Get in on this group hug, too!”

They did so with Spike being between Rachael, Fauna, Sunset, and Twilight. After they broke apart from the group hug, they smiled at each other.

“We promise we’ll look after Susan,” Ashleigh said honestly.

Sunset nodded and looked back at Susan, who was looking back at her from the torn school entrance.

“...I'll be right back,” she said before she ran over to Susan and gave her a gentle hug. Susan was utterly confused by this action. “Here’s to hoping you get the better life you truly wanted.” The other girls overheard and were as confused as Susan as Sunset headed for the portal.

“What do you mean by that?” Rachael asked.

“I think it’s best you let Susan know she won’t need to live in a constant struggle anymore,” Sunset answered. “Come on, Phoebe. We’re going home. Hopefully, I can stay in Equestria long enough to turn 22 on my next birthday.”

“We should go, too,” Spike said, notioning Twilight to the portal.

“I know we’ve been friends for a short while,” Twilight said to the human girls. “But, Spike and I are going to miss all of you so much.”

“We’ll miss you both, too,” Fauna said kindly.

“Yeah!” Roxy said before something occurred to her. “Wait, what was that last thing Sunset said?”*

Twilight and Spike then turned and walked towards Sunset, Phoebe, and the portal.

“So, Mom,” Spike asked Twilight. “How do you feel about wearing your crown?”

“To be honest,” Twilight replied. “While I would prefer to wear this on special occasions, I am starting to feel more comfortable with wearing it.”

The quartet stepped through the portal just as it closed. Once the magic stopped, the pony ears, horns, wings, and tails disappeared from the transformed humans.

Back in Equestria, Twilight and Spike came out of the portal first. Twilight was a pony again while Spike was a dragon again. Their pony friends saw them and embraced them.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy said happily. “Spike!”

“You’re both back!” Rainbow smiled.

“And you got your crown back!” Pinkie said happily.

“We were so worried!” Applejack said.

At that moment, Sunset emerged from the portal looking like the unicorn who stole the crown in the first place and Phoebe came after, regaining her phoenix appearance. She looked similar to Philomena, but, she was smaller and had sapphire blue eyes. Sunset was a bit disoriented from the bright lights of the portal.

“I forgot how bright the portal was,” she said.

“Sunset!” Wallflower said, tears of joy welling in her eyes.

“Big sister!” Sunburst said, tears of joy welling in his eyes. “Is it really you?”

Sunset’s vision cleared and she saw Wallflower and Sunburst. Tears of joy welled in her own eyes as she recognized them.

“It’s really me,” Sunset sniffled. “Sunburst, Wallflower, I missed you both so much.” The three ponies gently yet affectionately hugged each other. “It’s been three years.”

“Three?” Wallflower asked. “You were only gone for two and a half.”

Princess Celestia approached Sunset cautiously. Sunset noticed and quickly got on all fours.

“I know what you’re planning, Princess,” she said. “I’m prepared for whatever punishment you have in mind for not only my failures, but, thinking I could get away with them.” She braced herself for the worst, but, nothing came, leaving her confused. She opened one of her eyes to see Princess Celestia. “Aren’t you going to arrest me? Beat me until I bleed? Use your magic to make me experience the agony of being crushed by a ton of bricks?”

Princess Celestia gently placed a hoof on Sunset’s haunch. “I have missed you, Sunset Shimmer,” she said gently. “I had no such punishment. I only wished to see you back home safe and sound. Honestly, I’m shocked you think I’d even consider such things.”

“You banished your own sister,” Sunset said.

“Yes, I can’t deny that,” Princess Celestia admitted. “But, immediately afterward, I regretted it and stopped the idea of banishment.”

“But, what about all the other things you sent Moonrise to do on your behalf?” Sunset asked as she showed the scroll. This time, the only one who wasn’t shocked was Wallflower.

“By my grandparents!” Princess Celestia gasped in a horrified tone. “What sort of creature would even think of doing such things?! And why would you think I sent somepony else to do them?”

“Wait,” Sunset said. “You really didn’t know about any of this?”

“No,” Princess Celestia admitted.

“But, Moonrise told me you know literally everything,” Sunset replied. “When I’m sleeping, when I’m on the can, and that your eyesight spreads all across the land.”

“Those are grave exaggerations,” Princess Celestia said. “If I knew literally everything, I wouldn’t need you to send me reports of what you learned, now would I?”**

Sunset took all of this information in quietly. The thought had never occurred to her before.

“So,” she asked. “Moonrise wasn’t punishing my failures at creating my own Elements of Harmony?”

“You tried to make your own Elements of Harmony?” Celestia asked in surprise.

“You didn’t know about that, either?” Sunset asked, more surprised.

“I didn’t,” Princess Celestia admitted.

“Sunset did,” Twilight added. “She was able to wield one when dark magic overtook a girl and my new friends, Sunset, and I were able to help her.”

“That unicorn thief who stole the crown?” Sunburst asked.

“Did she look just like me?” Sunset asked.

“Sounded like you, too,” Wallflower said. “Though, she was much cruder and her aura was a different color.”

“That was Susan Shoichet,” Sunset explained. “She’s a human native to the world on the other side of that mirror.”

“What’s a human?” asked Wallflower.

“Well,” Sunset said. “You know Megan from the story of how Equestria was founded?”

“Yes,” Wallflower said.

“I believe she was basically one of those,” Sunset said.

“Ah~” Wallflower nodded.

“So,” Rarity said. “You must be the Sunset Shimmer we were told about.”

Sunset looked at the other five Guardians of Harmony and was reminded of her human friends. She looked at each of them and recalled the names of their counterparts.

“Rachael, Ashleigh, Fauna, Roxy, Pinkie…” Sunset said wistfully.

“Actually,” Pinkie corrected. “We’re Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pin-” she started, but, then stopped. “Actually, that last one you got right.”

“Those were all the nicknames I gave my human friends!” Sunset exclaimed. “I had human friends that the five of you remind me of.”

“Though,” Applejack said. “How’d ya know what ta call them if ya hadn’t met us ‘til now?”

“I just came up with them based off of their personalities and regular names,” Sunset explained. “Ashleigh’s full name was Ashleigh Jacklyn Apple, so, I nicknamed her Applejack.”

“Ooh~” Pinkie said intrigued. “Nifty!”

“Roxy is a rainbow-haired athlete,” Sunset continued. “That, combined with her full name of Roxy Dodgers giving her the initials RD, led to me nicknaming her Rainbow Dash. Rachael is a fashionista with a love for rare gemstones, so, I nicknamed her Rarity. Fauna Stein is a shy girl who wears butterflies on her clothes, so, I nicknamed her Fluttershy. And Pinkie Pie is still Pinkie Pie. I didn’t give her a nickname because her name already sounded like one that could come from here.”***

“That is creative,” Fluttershy said. “And clever.”

“Susan and I,” Sunset continued. “Looked so similar to each other that others thought we were twin sisters, which I could conveniently use as a cover.”

“I can see that,” Pinkie said.

“She gave me the pseudonym of Sally Shoichet,” Sunset chuckled. “I used it every once in a while, but, I did tell my close friends to address me as ‘Sunset Shimmer’ as a nickname I preferred over my real one.”

“So, where’s this Susan now?” Celestia asked.

“She’s been left in very capable hands,” Sunset answered.

“What are hands?” asked Rainbow.

“Well,” Sunset explained. “You know Spike’s—” She stopped as she finally saw what Spike looked like in Equestria.

“Claws,” Spike finished.

“Whoa!” Sunset exclaimed in surprise. “Spike, you really are a dragon!”

Spike grew a bit dismal. “And here comes the judgment.”

“I’m not going to judge you,” Sunset reassured. “I admit, I may not be completely used to dragons or know much about them, but, after meeting you in the human world and seeing what you do for Twilight, I do know that you’re a good boy. Anything else is irrelevant.”

Spike was touched by such a wise and generous statement that he instinctively began hugging Sunset, who was taken by surprise as she felt tears come out of his eyes.****

“Uh,” Sunset asked. “Did I say the secret word or something?”

“No,” Twilight explained. “He just heard some kind words from someone who wasn’t completely prejudiced about dragons. He grew up around a lot of ponies who hated him just because he was a dragon. So, naturally, he softens up when shown even the tiniest bit of compassion.”

“Oh~” Sunset said, understanding the situation. She couldn’t help but feel upset for Spike’s situation, but, she promised him that she wouldn’t be like that.

“Elephant in the room,” Rainbow said. “How did she know about the Elements of Harmony?”

“I came across them in the story of the Two Sisters on the 998th Summer Sun Celebration,” Sunset explained. “My 16th birthday.”

“N’,” Applejack asked. “Did ya also read a copy o’ Predictions n Prophecies r’ the Elements o’ Harmony reference guide?”

“Both,” Sunset answered. “I figured looking for the real ones would be too difficult and dangerous, so, I decided to try making new ones.”

“Truly inspired,” Princess Celestia admitted.

“But,” Sunset said. “I kept failing for two long years. Each time I did, Moonrise came and did one of the things on that list.”

“I sent her to you to help lift your spirits,” Celestia said. “I never imagined she’d do those things in my name.”

“The list doesn’t even cover the worst thing she’s done,” Sunset said. “One time, she took me underground and [MASSIVELY CENSORED] coat hanger [MASSIVELY CENSORED] shoved me in a harness [MASSIVELY CENSORED] down [MASSIVELY CENSORED] across [MASSIVELY CENSORED] up [MASSIVELY CENSORED] inside [MASSIVELY CENSORED] for about 20 minutes [MASSIVELY CENSORED] railroad spike [MASSIVELY CENSORED] stag beetles [MASSIVELY CENSORED] through [MASSIVELY CENSORED] jamming it in my [MASSIVELY CENSORED] diagonally [MASSIVELY CENSORED] raining stallions [MASSIVELY CENSORED] rock tumbler [MASSIVELY CENSORED] lamp post [MASSIVELY CENSORED] and slapping me with a [MASSIVELY CENSORED] river trout [MASSIVELY CENSORED] until golden brown [MASSIVELY CENSORED] extreme [MASSIVELY CENSORED] shoving things in [MASSIVELY CENSORED] 30 or so years ago.”*****

Everyone, sans Wallflower, was completely shocked.

“YIKES!” Applejack exclaimed. “That is all kinds o’ twisted! N’ ah don’t care what anypony says, ah know fer a fact that that does NOT bend that way! None o’ y’all ask how ah know that!”

“Had I know Moonrise did all of that to you,” Princess Celestia said. “I would have expelled her years ago.”

“So, Moonrise wasn’t acting on your behalf all this time?” Sunset asked.

“No, she wasn’t,” Princess Celestia answered truthfully.

This made Sunset grow increasingly angry. “I can’t believe it!” she shouted. “All this time, she’s been the Dio Brando to my Jonathan Joestar!”******

“The what to your what?” Fluttershy asked, unfamiliar with the names Sunset mentioned.

“Basically,” Sunset said. “She’s been trying to break my spirit as well as some of my bodily parts so that she could come out on top! Turning any friend I made against me by spreading lies about me, too! All she needs is a charge of poisoning her own father, kissing the love of my life before I have a chance to, burning my pet alive, and becoming a vampire and she won’t just be taking a page from Dio Brando, but, she’ll be writing a sequel to his goddamn book!”

They admitted they didn’t completely understand what Sunset was referencing, but, they did know that this Moonrise was trouble.

“I suggest you get a good night's sleep,” Luna suggested. “You’ll need it to relieve yourself of all this negativity.”

Sunset took a deep breath and exhaled. “Yeah, you’re right,” Sunset said.

“Would you like Essense of Lavender?” Wallflower asked.

“No,” Sunset said. “That doesn’t do anything for me anymore. Susan had been slipping it into my morning tea every day for a year and I had grown immune to it.”

“Did I miss the summit?” Twilight asked.

“No,” Cadance answered. “We waited until you got back.”

“Though I will say after we have it,” Princess Celestia said. “I think I’ll want to have a word with Moonrise Dazzle.”

As they headed back to their rooms, they saw Sunset struggling to open a door with her magic, her moderate amaranth aura flickering in and out of existence while making electrical crackling sounds.

“It looks like you’ve been in the human world for so long,” Twilight noted. “Your magic has weakened.”

“Kind of a letdown after all the hype,” Rainbow commented.

“Rainbow, hush,” Applejack said.

“She only just got back home and reunited with her friends after so long,” Fluttershy said. “We should be welcoming towards her.”

“All that dancing probably didn’t help, either,” Twilight said.

“Dancing?” the other Guardians asked.

“It’s a long story,” Twilight said. “We’ll discuss it later.”

“Hey, I just realized something!” Spike said. “Tomorrow morning’s Hearth’s Warming!”

Twilight gasped. “Oh, my gosh! I was so focused on my task to get my crown back that it completely slipped my mind! Oh, Spike, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, mom,” Spike said. “The mission was important. Besides, you know I don’t want presents for my birthday or Hearth’s Warming anymore. Not after what happened the day after my 12th birthday.”

“Can we get to sleep now?” Pinkie asked. “It feels like we’re dragging it on.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight said sheepishly. “Goodnight, everypony. Goodnight, Spike.”

Author's Note

Here's the penultimate chapter.

*Bit of humor.

**An excellent point.

***Origins of the nicknames.

****WHOLESOME!!!

*****A humorous yet terrifying reference to this:

*****

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Epilogue

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