The electrical sparks and blasts of sounds and lights were both blinding and deafening. Shielding my eyes as my ears folded back against my head, I dove for cover under the table.
“What in the name of Celestia is going on down here?”
The cacophony died down as I slowly extracted myself from beneath the table. Turning toward Twilight, I smiled sheepishly and replied, “A miscalculation?”
Twilight opened her mouth, but before she could speak our attention was drawn to the mirror portal.
As we gazed into the portal, I could see scenes and buildings unfolding within. I could feel my face breaking out in an excited grin, and I could just picture stars in my eyes like I’ve seen happen to other ponies when they become ecstatic. Hey. It’s magic. I ain’t gotta explain shit.
“It worked. It worked! IT WORKED!” I exclaimed, bouncing around the room.
“What worked?”
My bouncing came to an abrupt halt as I turned toward her explaining, “I’ve cracked the portal.”
“What?”
Moving over to a set of controls, I began to type in the instructions—Past Sins. Pen Stroke. Twilight’s home—answering, “I’ve figured out how to program the portal to open onto any world that’s part of your multiverse. In other words, I can visit the stories I’ve seen or read back home.”
As she read what I had inputted on the screen, she commented, “I don’t see how typing in the name of a story and the author’s name is gonna make that portal open on to their world.”
“Think of it like a search engine. As long as the world is part of the prime world on the tree it will find it.”
“Tree?”
“OK, think of the prime world as the root of a giant tree. As it rises majestically from the ground, each branch that grows from it is another world that’s a part of the metaverse.”
Nodding she was then distracted from what she was about to say from a ding that came from the machine.
“It’s found it! Come on. Let’s go.”
“Not so fast,” she said, levitating and setting me in front of her. “Before we go anywhere, you don’t mind if I test this thing out first? Make sure it’s not gonna tear us apart?”
“Or come in Twilight. Like I’d be so careless. I assure you that it’s perfectly safe.”
“All the same. I’m running safety checks.”
“Fine, but you’re wasting your time.”
“Well, it’s mine to waste.”
Grumbling, I took a seat as I waited for Twilight to run her dumb safety checks. After a while Twilight turned to me and said. “Sorry, but I hope you appreciate that…”
“Yea, yea. That you’re looking out for my safety. Twilight. How many times have I created a or modified a spell?”
Blushing she replied, “Point taken. However I just felt this was a bit too dangerous to just dive into.”
“And if I had had that attitude I never would have come here.”
“That’s different. You were being guided by the creator. Here, you’ve modified an already magical artifact which caused a cacophonous racket.”
Well, she shut me up. I could only sheepishly grin and nod.
Smiling she went on to say, “Well, with all that being said, this portal is almost perfect.”
“Almost?”
“Yea. There was one minor issue. However, I’ve corrected it.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
Grinning she continued, “Oh, it was nothing too serious. Just if we had gone through as it was, we’d have lost our lunch. The inertial dampeners were offline.”
“Oh. Heh, heh. Thanks for insisting on checking my work.”
“No need to thank me. Just looking out for you as any good friend would.”
As we approached the portal, I went on to say, “And thanks for the other thing too.”
“What other thing?”
“Not saying ‘I told you so’.”
She simply smiled and said, “Well, shall we?”
Nodding as I smiled and replied, “Ladies first.”
“Ah. Such a gentlecolt.” Then she stepped through with me following after.
***
“My word. I never thought I would see it again,” Twilight said as tears threatened to spill down her face.
Before us stood the Golden Oaks Library, a perfect recreation of the home Twilight once cherished. Watching her gaze at it, a mix of longing and sadness on her face, her sense of loss was unmistakable.
“Oh yea. I should have probably prepared you for…” Suddenly I was cocooned in fur and feathers. All I could do was hold her as she wept with joy as she thanked me.
Shortly though, she managed to pull herself together, and we approached the library. Lifting her hoof, she knocked on the door.
Moments later it opened as Spike did a double take upon seeing Twilight. Slamming the door he could be heard running and shouting for Twilight. Moments later the door opens again. “Spike, I assure you. You must have been see…” A beat. “Huh? Wha? Why? How am I there? Why am I standing there? How is this even possible? Where did you come from?”
“I have so many questions!” I just couldn’t help myself.
“Nyx’s Twilight blinked at me, totally derailed by my outburst, before getting back on track. “OK. Choosing to ignore the Alicorn colt randomly screaming that for now, how? And furthermore, why are you here? This is not scientifically possible.” She pokes my Twilight and continues, “You’re not scientifically possible.”
Looking askance at me, my Twilight laments, “Please tell me I wasn’t as bad as this.”
“Oh yea. Those last two lines were, in fact, a direct quote from Season 2, Episode 20 titled, ‘It’s About Time’.”
Before either Twilight could respond to that, an adorable little black filly poked her head around that door asking, “Mom. When’s dinner?” She then spotted us. “Why are there two mommies.” Her eyes brightened. “Does that other mommy have wings?”
Nyx’s Twilight’s eyes also grow bigger. “You have wings?! I have wings?!”
Giggling Nyx says joyously, “My other mommy’s a princess like me.” She then approached my Twilight. “Wow! Your wings are so big and pretty.”
She unfurled them and said, “What? These old things?”
“OK. Hold on,” Nyx’s Twilight said. “First of all, let’s go inside and get some tea.”
Shortly after, the four of us were seated around the table as Spike fell into his role of servant and quickly provided tea for all of us.
Nyx’s Twilight then spoke up after having a sip of her tea. “So, how exactly are you here, and how did you arrive?”
I replied, “Well, my Twilight—she’s got this mirror portal that lets her travel to another world. Basically, it was like… well, actually, I probably shouldn’t tell you too much about it in case something similar happens to you. I’ve got to worry about, you know, foreknowledge. Sharing too much about what might happen in your future could be dangerous. So anyway, I managed to reconfigure the portal to allow me to open it up to any world I could think of.”
Nyx’s Twilight nodded slowly, processing my words, before replying, “That answers the first part of my question. So that just leaves the second part.”
“Well, basically, it was to meet Nyx.”
Nyx’s eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, “Me? You wanted to meet me?”
I nodded to her in confirmation, and she went on to say, “Why did you want to meet me?”
Smiling warmly, I replied, “Back home, I read about you—your courage, your growth, everything you went through. It inspired me in ways I can’t even explain. Meeting you in person has been a dream of mine ever since I first read about you.”
Her eyes took on a look of wonder, mingled with shock and awe, as she replied, “Whoa, you read about me?”
She interjected at this point, “Wait, how did you read about her?”
I knew this question would come eventually, so I took a deep breath and dove right in, explaining to them that the world I originally came from wasn’t Equestria at all, but a place called Earth. On Earth, I was a completely different species—a human being. In that world, I watched a show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which, as I explained, was essentially their world.
I went on to describe how this show inspired a massive following, a huge fan base that created their own content—music, videos, and stories, all based on the ideas from the show. One such fan, who went by the handle Pen Stroke, wrote a story called Past Sins. The story explored what might have happened if Nightmare Moon had been allowed to return and rule after her initial banishment. It involved a group of ponies who sought to bring her back to life, along with everything that followed from that.
I finished with a small grin, adding, “I mean, I don’t need to tell you—you lived it. So yeah, that’s how I know about you.”
Eyes narrowing in disbelief, she replied, “Oh, come on, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
Twilight’s wings twitched slightly as she quickly replied, “I know it’s hard to believe at first, but trust me, it is the truth.”
“Oh,” she asked challengingly, “and you were able to verify that?”
“No, I wasn’t able to verify it,” my Twilight replied. “At least, not physically—not yet. However, the pathway is open, and I can go there whenever I choose.”
Her expression shifted from disbelief to shock. “Wait, you can actually traverse to his dimension? A world filled with creatures that aren’t like us?”
Nodding, she replied, “Yes. Celestia actually made the trip herself, wanting to see the world Simon came from with her own eyes and interact with its people. She’s basically our world’s diplomat to his world now.”
Her eyes took on a questioning look. “Why is there a bridge between your two worlds? What exactly happened in your world?”
In unison, as if it were rehearsed, we both replied, “It’s a long story.”
“I can imagine,” she went on to say. “You must have had quite the adventure over there.”
Smiling gently, my Twilight wrapped her wing around me, pressing me to her side. “Yeah, this little bundle fell into our laps one day, and he totally turned our world upside down. We love him very much.”
Giggling, I replied, “Quite literally, in fact.”
Nyx’s Twilight’s eyes took on a questioning look. “Oh, that sounds intriguing. You can’t just leave me hanging like that. Elaborate.”
“Not much to say,” I replied. “I quite literally fell into their laps. The portal that brought me to their Equestria opened out onto the sky, like a hundred feet off the ground. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t caught me at the last moment, I would have made a pretty ugly stain on the landscape.”
I shuddered a bit at the memory.
Grimacing, she replied, “Seriously? Seems like whoever made that portal should have given more thought of where to place the exit aperture.”
“Personally, I think God did it on purpose in order to endear me to the ponies when they first met me,” I added with a smirk.
With a puzzled expression, she asked, “Who’s God?”
Twilight then responded, “It’s what the humans call the Creator.”
The other Twilight nodded in understanding. “Oh, I see. Heh. I didn’t know the Creator had a flair for the dramatic.”
“I guess God loves good theater,” I remarked.
Then the three of us laughed. Nyx just looked puzzled.
“What’s wrong, Nyx?” I asked her. “Aren’t you following along with any of this? The God, Creator thing? You know, them being the same all-powerful being?”
She simply shook her head and said, “Who’s the Creator?”
My Twilight gasped as if in shock and replied, “You haven’t taught Nyx about the Creator yet?”
She smiled sheepishly, blushing. “Uh, no, we haven’t exactly gotten around to that yet. Heh heh heh.”
“Well, then, it is a discussion whose time has long since been coming,” I said matter of factly, with a very stern tone.
My Twilight nodded with the same stern expression on her face, agreeing silently.
“You are right,” Nyx’s Twilight replied. “We will have the talk as soon as the two of you leave, I promise.”
On that note, I replied, “I think it is about time we did just that.”
Nyx pouted and said, “Aww, do you really have to leave already?”
Nodding, I replied, “Do not worry, this is not goodbye. We have a portal. I can visit you whenever I want.”
She smiled happily and said, “Oh, great. I cannot wait to see you again. You seem fun. Next time, let us play together.”
Giggling slightly, I said, “It is a date.”
And with that, Twilight and I took our leave. Gazing back from the portal for a last look, Twilight commented, “Thank you, Simon. It was a true joy to see the old library again. I also understand why you wanted to meet Nyx. She is so adorable.”
“Did you miss my whole speech about her bravery and growth—basically her whole story resonating with me?”
“No, I didn’t miss that,” she remarked with a knowing smile.
Rolling my eyes, I responded, “OK, yes, she was adorable. All ponies are adorable. That’s not news to me.”
Giggling, she and I stepped through the portal, returning to our own world. I looked forward to the day when I would see Nyx again.
“So, let me get this straight. You want me and Scoots, along with her friend Archer, to accompany you and Twilight to a different Equestria?”
I nodded. “Yup. That’s about the size of it. What do you say, Dashy? Care to step through the looking glass?”
“OK, one, would you please stop with the references I don’t know? And two—not a chance. Later.” Then, she zoomed off.
“Aww, but it’ll be fun!” I watched as she quickly moved out of sight. “Dang it.” I got a sly grin and casually called out, “Wow! Never pegged Rainbow Dash as a coward!”
A rush of air, and she was in my face, looking more than a little perturbed. “So… changed your mind?”
“So not cool.”
“I’m not hearing a no~o,” I singsonged.
She snorted. “Fine. I’ll go ask Scoots and Archer about it. We’ll meet ya at Twilight’s later.” With that, she was gone again.
I smiled smugly. “Works every time.”
***
“So, why was it so important for us to accompany you guys this time?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“Dash, if Simon wants you along, it’s no doubt because the three of you are the focal points of this world.”
“Shhh, no spoilers.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Technically, that wasn’t a spoiler, as I haven’t a clue what this world’s story is. It was more of an educated guess than anything…”
“Nerrrrrrd!”
“Oh, shush you.” She gave me a playful swat to my rear.
“Fresh.”
“Simon. Sometimes I don’t know why we put up with you.”
“Because you lo~ve me.”
Smiling, she shook her head. “Let’s just go, wise guy.”
The two fillies giggled as Dash said, “Yeah, I agreed to go with you, not watch the two of you flirting.
“Dash!” Twilight exclaimed, mortified.
“Aww, she’s just jealous,” I said.
The two fillies giggled again.
“OK I think we’ve given those two enough of a show.”
I could take a hint… sometimes. “OK, no more teasing… for now.”
“Let’s just do this already,” Dash said impatiently.
And with that, we all stepped through the portal.
***
As we arrived on the other side I noticed Twilight gazing at the Golden Oaks Library, though not with the same emotional weight as last time.
“It’s not fair. Was I the only Twilight to lose her home?”
“Bear in mind, these stories were written years before the events with Tirek.”
“So, wait. We’re not only crossing dimensions, but going back through time?” Dash inquired.
“Something like that. Basically, the portal opens up to a point in time at the end of the story. Not really sure what time though.”
At that moment, the door to the library opened, and a startled Twilight gawked at us. After a moment, she muttered, “Guess shopping can wait.” Then, in her normal voice, she added, “Well, don’t just stand there.” She disappeared back inside.
“Well, she’s certainly handling this a lot better than that other me,” Twilight noted as we walked inside.
“The other us, huh?” their Twilight said thoughtfully. “So, I’m not the first.”
“Wait, you know where we came from?” Dash asked incredulously.
“Not really hard to piece together, especially with that portal swirling around out there.”
Giggling, I said, “Yeah. She’s so much more like you than that other one all right.”
“Please, be seated. Spike should be here any…” Spike enters with a tray of tea and cakes and busied himself with serving us. “… moment now,” she finished, smiling.
Sipping her tea she went on to ask, “So, what brings you here? I can only assume, since you brought Dash and the two fillies, that you wanted them to meet. Yes?”
“Oh, she is so you,” I state. “Though given what she went through, I suppose it caused her to mature faster or something.”
“And how, exactly, do you know what I went through?”
“Aw… yes. Well, that’s gonna take some explaining, and I would like Dash and the fillies present for that.”
She smiled. “I thought you might.”
“OK Spike. Jeez. What’s so important that you had to drag us all the way to… to…” It’s at this point she spots us. “Uh Twilight. Explain. Please.”
“Relax, Dash. It’s not more fillysprite shenanigans. Our visitors are from a parallel Equestria,”
“Oh. Guess that explains that swirling portal outside.”
“Fillysprite shenanigans?” my Dash inquired.
“Long story,” Their Dash said.
“Maybe it would be easier if the fillies examined one another’s…” I cleared my throat. “… lower regions.”
“Huh?” My two fillies said as the others simply turned around and flagged their tails. The response from my group was varied.
Twilight glanced at this world’s Scootaloo and Archer, her eyes widening as she took in the unexpected details. Rainbow Dash leaned closer, her smirk turning into a curious grin. Scootaloo and Archer exchanged bewildered glances, unsure how to react to the revelation. Their expressions ranged from shock to curiosity, processing the realization that their counterparts were so different.
Scootaloo blinked a few times before turning to her Rainbow Dash. “Uh, Rainbow Dash, are we seeing things, or are they missing… you know, their bits?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Well, that’s definitely a surprise. Guess we learn something new every day!”
Twilight, intrigued, leaned forward. “This is fascinating. I didn’t know other Equestrias had such unique differences.”
Archer looked at Scootaloo, her brow furrowed. “So, does that mean they’re more aerodynamic or something?”
Everyone burst into laughter, breaking the tension and bringing a sense of camaraderie to the unusual situation.
Archer, catching her breath from laughing, looked over at Scootaloo and asked, “And speaking of that, how come my counterpart has wings like yours?”
Scootaloo nodded thoughtfully. “It’s kind of a long story and pretty difficult to explain.”
Twilight explained, “It’s an evolutionary path that makes them more like parasprites. Scootaloo and Archer have insect-like wings and lack the reproductive organs that other ponies have. This is because, similar to parasprites, they reproduce—and de-produce—by mouth.”
Twilight’s curiosity sparked, her eyes widening as she asked, ‘De-produce? What do you mean by that?’ Her tone and the glint in her eyes conveyed a mix of intrigue and eagerness to explore this peculiar aspect of their world.
They can reabsorb others they produce after they’ve digested enough to make room.
“They can reincorporate? Fascinating!” Her eyes sparkled with intrigue as she processed this unusual ability.
And it turns out, this actually serves a practical purpose. During a time of severe food shortage in a town called Nickelright, the Fillysprite—who we later learned were actually called Oracles—decided to help in the only way she could. She began to de-produce the foals of that town to transform them into beings like herself, with small wings, lacking reproductive organs, and capable of reproducing by mouth. This served a twofold purpose: they needed less to sustain themselves, and during times where the food shortage was very severe, they could de-produce half the population—this way they would fill themselves up, while decreasing the mouths to feed. One half taking in the other half until food became plentiful again, wherein they could then eat enough to reproduce them.
Twilight nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information. “That’s quite an ingenious adaptation,” she remarked, glancing at Scootaloo and Archer with newfound respect. “It’s amazing how they’ve evolved to handle such challenging conditions.”
I spoke up adding, “Yeah, but you have to remember, that this only works on ponies that have been out long enough to become ‘real,’ as Scootaloo put it. If they reabsorb a pony that’s only been out for a short time, they disappear forever and can’t be reproduced again.”
All of their eyes widened in shock, horrified by the implications.
Their Twilight, noticing my group’s reaction, stepped forward to share her perspective. “I know it sounds alarming, but it’s just a fact of their biology. I have confirmed this. While the ones who aren’t out long enough to become real do disappear forever, everything they are, everything they were, becomes a part of them. Their memories and experiences live through them. So in a way they aren’t really gone.
“What are we but the sum of our memories?” I quoted.
“Very apt. Where’s that from? My Twilight asked.
“Assassin’s Creed Revelations. A video game from my world.”
Their Twilight then inquired, “Your world?”
My group then expounded on my origins, and while we were at it, I worked in how I knew of them.
“Definitely one of my top five fanfics.”
“Well, that is… well, to say it’s a lot to take in, feels like a gross understatement.”
Smiling, my Twilight responded, “Yes, it does take time to come to terms with such a metaphysical concept.”
“Meh, what’s reality anyway?” their Dash asked.
“Woah, I think their me is more fill-a-what-ya-call-it than I am.”
“Philosophical,” the Twilight’s and I said in unison.
“Yeah. That.”
“Well, we know which of us got the brains, considering you couldn’t articulate your thoughts in a concise manner by not knowing words such as ‘philosophical’. Really. Would it kill ya to pick up a book that doesn’t begin with ‘Daring Do’? You really need to feed that brain.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh no. That me is an EGGHEAD!”
Everypony, sans our Dash, broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
“Well, this has been fun and all, but I think it’s time you all headed home,” their Twilight said.
Nodding, our Twilight agreed. “Yes. The hour has drawn late.” We all stood and bade each other farewell.
“See ya me. It was really… interesting to meet ya, “my Scootaloo said.
“I think their word you’re looking for is weird.”
“Ha, ha. Yeah.”
“I still don’t get how we can be the same, but I was born to actual parents,” my Archer said.
“I agree. That’s the most weird part of this whole thing if you ask me.”
“I think it’s safe to say that everyone can agree to that conclusion.” A round of nodding heads confirmed this sentiment.
Our good-byes said we headed outside and approached the portal.
“Well, got to admit, this was fun,” my Dash said as the fillies nodded their agreement.
Smiling, I replied, “Seeing a similar world from a new perspective always is. I think so anyway.”
“That sounds about right,” Twilight added. “Well, let’s go home, everypony.”
And so, our journey here came to an end, but many more awaited.
