A Very Minty Summer Sun Celebration

After scouring the fairgrounds trying to discover clues about the lost scarf and the mysterious, rumored “prize coins,” Minty and Pinkie Pie were growing tired, and the game didn’t seem as fun as it had when they started.

They noticed a general movement among the crowd. Pinkie asked a passing pony where they were going, and he told them the great parade would soon begin. “It starts here at the fair ground, but the parade route winds through the avenues and a large part of the city before looping back to here,” he explained. “Some ponies are already gathering to find the best spots for watching it—and catching the candy they throw from the floats.”

Minty nudged her friend. “Hear that, Pinkie Pie? Candy!”

“Uh. Y’know, Minty, I might have had enough sweets for a while.”

Minty gasped, then peered suspiciously. “Who are you, and what have you done with the real Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie nudged Minty and then pointed toward a wandering vendor. “I want one of those pretzels. Want to split one? They’re huge!”

“Ooh! Something new to try!”

They trotted over to the unicorn who was levitating a sort of wooden rack by his side with pretzels hanging from it. These pretzel vendors had been wandering around the fair grounds, although this one, at the moment, was standing conveniently next to one of the picnic tables. “I’ll take one!” Pinkie told him.

The stallion levitated a pretzel, its brown surface glistening, from the rack and over to Pinkie’s waiting hooves. “That’ll be two bits,” he said.

Minty stuck her muzzle into her saddlebags and came up with a shiny silver coin—one of those she’d brought with her for the trip. She offered it to the vendor, who floated it over to his eye and squinted. “What’s this? I don’t know what this is worth?”

Minty huffed, exasperated. “Why do I keep having to explain this? It’s a new penny. You can cut them in pieces to make half-pennies or bits.”

“No, Minty, we’re not supposed to cut the coins in half anymore. That’s what Kimono told me,” Pinkie Said.

The unicorn looked confused. “Uhh. I don’t know how much change to give you.”

Minty pressed on. “Look, it’s easy. There’s eight bits in a farthing.” She dumped a few coins from her coin purse onto the table and spread the coins out with a hoof, a mixture of coins she’d brought for the trip and ones she’d gotten back in change.

Pinkie interjected, “But we don’t use Ponyland farthings anymore.”

“Right!” Minty said, with a nervous giggle. “I forgot. Okay, we have pennies now, which is like half a farthing. And there’s twelve pennies in a kopin.”

“No, there was twelve farthings in a kopin; now there’s twenty four pennies in a kopin.”

“I just want to sell pretzels,” the vendor said. “Why is it this hard?”

Nearby ponies milling about the fairgrounds took notice of the vendor’s exclamations. A few moved closer, trying to get a look at the coins in question.

Minty laughed again, the laugh of the desperate. “Um, okay. So there’s eight bits in a farthing, which is why they were called pieces of eight. Because you could cut up a farthing into eight bits.”

“But we don’t do that anymore,” Pinkie reminded again.

“Right! But a penny is worth half a farthing, so that means a bit is like, um…”

“A quarter. It’s a quarter of a silver penny. So if you give him a penny, you should get two bits back.”

“But what is this? Somepony gave me that in change, but I never saw one before.” Minty pointed at a small silver coin on the table.

“It’s an ordinary disme,” the unicorn supplied helpfully. “But what’s this?” He pointed at a small golden coin.

“That’s a kopin piece,” Minty said. “I didn’t know how expensive things would be here, so I brought a couple of those just to be sure.”

So absorbed were they in the discussion, they didn’t notice that some other ponies were starting to gather around and peer over their shoulders at the coins. One of them butted in and exclaimed, “Those are the prize coins, right? You found one?”

“What? No, these are just…” Minty started to say.

“It looks like these ponies found a bunch of the special coins,” another pony said.

“No fair!” cried another. “I’ve spent a fortune and never got anything good back in my change.”

“Yeah, you ponies have been holding out on us.”

The gathering crowd was pushing in close now. Minty quickly scooped most of her coins back into the pouch, and into her saddlebag. Pinkie Pie admonished the other ponies, “Hay, back up a little, give us some air?” Her words had an uncertain quaver.

“What do you want from us?” cried Minty. “We don’t have any special coins!”

“Let’s find out!”

A pony lunged forward and caught the edge of the saddlebag with his teeth and tugged. Minty shrieked and kicked reflexively, her hoof whacking him a glancing blow to the jaw.

Pinkie Pie gave her friend’s ear a quick tug and said, “Let’s run for it, Minty!” The two of them made a heroic leap over the picnic table and raced away, but the mob galloped after.

Vendors and fairgoers leapt out of the way to avoid being trampled. “This way, Minty!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she veered to the left. Minty followed her friend, hooves pounding on the dusty ground. As they rounded a corner, a cart filled with colorful balloons came into view.

“Balloons!” exclaimed Minty. “I love balloons!”

Before Pinkie could stop her, Minty leapt into the air and popped three balloons with her hooves. The balloons exploded with a loud BANG, causing Minty to drop back to the ground in a fit of giggles.

“Minty, no!” cried Pinkie.

But it was too late. The balloon cart driver turned and shouted angrily at the two ponies, “You’ll pay for that!” Minty’s eyes went wide as she realized what she had done.

“Run!” yelled Pinkie again. Minty didn’t need to be told twice. She galloped after Pinkie Pie, the angry driver’s shouts growing distant behind them.

Up ahead, Pinkie skidded to a stop in front of a long table covered in pies. “Pies!” she exclaimed excitedly. But a stern look from Minty told her now was not the time.

As the pair raced on, the mob rounded the corner behind them, knocking over the pie table in their haste. Pies went flying through the air and splattered on the ground. “My pies!” wailed the pie maker. But the mob paid no attention as they continued their pursuit of the two ponies.

Pinkie and Minty rushed by game stalls next. Minty’s eyes lit up when she spotted a ring toss game. “Ooh, ring toss!” she cried. Before Pinkie could react, Minty grabbed three rings in her mouth and tossed them towards the bottles. Two rings landed perfectly around bottle necks while the third bounced off a stallion’s head.

“Hey!” yelled the stallion angrily. But Minty was already dashing away, an excited grin on her face. The mob trampled through the ring toss stall, upending bottles and sending rings scattering everywhere. The game stall owner shook his hoof angrily after them.

Pinkie led them towards a large red and white striped tent next. “Maybe we can hide in here!” she said. But as soon as they slipped through the tent entrance, they realized their mistake. They found themselves amidst a whirlwind of color and sound, smack in the center of the circus’s grand finale. The audience gasped as Minty and Pinkie zigzagged down the aisles, their sudden appearance throwing the performers off rhythm.

“What’s the meaning of this unscheduled act?!” bellowed the ringmaster, his voice booming over the circus tunes.

Minty slid to a halt, stars in her eyes when she noticed the elephants, stylishly attired, engaged in an intricate dance routine. “Ooh, elephants performing!” she squealed in delight. In her excitement and without thinking, she bounded forward and tapped the nearest elephant’s backside.

The elephant, a regal creature adorned in a vibrant costume, spun around with surprise, breaking character. “Excuse you!” he trumpeted indignantly, his trunk gesturing with disapproval. The unexpected disturbance caused the rider, a juggling monkey in a tiny sparkling vest, to lose balance and tumble into a soft pile of straw.

The crowd’s murmurs swelled to a cacophony as the pursuing mob crashed into the circus tent, adding to the confusion. Performers and circus-goers alike scurried every which way to avoid being caught up in the pandemonium, as the once orderly display of artistry unraveled into sheer bedlam.

“We must adhere to the script, my dears!” called out an elephant, urging for order as she tried to regain the momentum of their dance among the chaos.

With the circus now in mayhem, Pinkie Pie gave Minty a tug. “Time to make our grand exit, Minty!” They dashed towards the other side of the tent, looking for another escape route from the growing uproar behind them. They galloped back out of the tent just as the mob trampled through, leaving overturned bleachers and scattered popcorn in their wake.

Pinkie and Minty raced through the fairgrounds, weaving between tents and stalls. Up ahead, Pinkie spotted a tall fence sectioning off a grazing area. “This way!” she shouted, vaulting easily up and over the fence. Minty followed close behind. They landed together in a small field where several cows placidly munched on grass, oblivious to the chaos around them.

“This way!” Pinkie cried, ducking around behind the row of vendor stalls and through an open gate, into an area that seemingly wasn’t meant for the general public. There they found two rows of large tents, and a wide, grassy avenue between where parade floats were gathered, and many ponies hustling about to get them ready for the grand parade to roll out.

The pair stopped and gawped for a moment, amazed by the spectacle, whimsy and artistry of the floats. Pinkie Pie and Minty’s eyes grew wide as they took in the elaborate constructions before them, some topped with colorful balloons, others featuring magically animated characters, and all of them painted in bright, cheerful colors. They couldn’t believe the amount of detail that had gone into each float; there were candy sculptures, flower garlands, confetti cannons, and so many other creative touches. For a few moments, Pinkie and Minty were able to forget about the chaos outside the fairgrounds, enthralled by the magic of the parade floats.

It was Pinkie Pie who broke the spell first, nuzzling Minty and saying, “C’mon, that stampeding crowd will figure out where we went! Let’s hide in one of these tents.”

“Uh… Right!” Minty followed, the coins in her saddlebags jingling with each stride.

The delay was costly, though, as the mob poured into the workspace, knocking over buckets of paint and startling the workers. “There they are!” someone shouted. The stampede of hooves grew closer.

Minty and Pinkie ducked into an open tent flap and found themselves in an enormous workshop bustling with activity. All around them, ponies were busy putting the final touches elaborate floats for the upcoming parade and starting to pull them out toward the starting area for the parade.

Pinkie spied an opening between two floats and made a sharp turn, Minty close behind. As they squeezed through the narrow gap, Minty’s bulging saddlebag brushed against a wooden platform holding several heavy jars. She gasped as one enormous glass jar teetered and then toppled off the platform, hitting the ground with a tremendous crash.

The jar burst open, and black liquid resembling ink splashed in all directions, including Minty’s legs and feet. Thick black smoke began billowing out from the liquid, rapidly filling the workspace. As Minty stumbled after Pinkie, smoke trailed from her, bubbling and boiling off of her legs. The dark trail it left behind spread across the ground, creating an ominous wake.

Ponies coughed (mostly in panicked reflex, as the smoke had only a mild odor somewhat like pickle brine), shielding their eyes from the strange sight. Through the haze, Minty spotted Pinkie’s cotton candy pink tail and hurried after her, her heart pounding.

“It’s poison joke smoke!” someone yelled over the commotion. “Get out!” Panic erupted in the workshop as ponies scrambled for the exits. Outside, the rest of the mob pursuing Minty and Pinkie halted, taken aback by the cloud gushing out. Cries of alarm and confusion echoed through the structure, heightening the sense of urgency.

Minty and Pinkie reached a side door and burst outside, gulping fresh air. The black smoke flowed behind them, thick and swirling, as it continued to boil plentifully from Minty’s legs and hooves where she’d been splashed.

“What did you do?” Pinkie cried, wide-eyed as she glanced back at the smoke-filled building.

“I don’t know!” Minty wailed, watching the inky blackness spreading from her legs. She shook a leg frantically, but it only caused smoke to generate faster. “It was an accident!”

“We’ve got to keep moving!” Pinkie shouted, shaking Minty from her daze. She scanned the fairgrounds desperately for an escape route or a place to hide. “This way!” With a burst of energy, the pair launched into motion once more, out of the work area, once again into the main thoroughfare. They weaved through the throngs of frightened fairgoers.

However, the trail of smoke Minty left behind only caused more panic. “Look at that, she’s on fire!” a pony cried out. Some brave ponies rushed to try and catch Minty, presumably to try and extinguish whatever flames they imagined must be burning her.

Others ran from her. “It’s a demon pony!” one yelled. Meanwhile, behind the tents a black cloud was growing like a fog bank, which suddenly spilled over into the festival area, and the stampede became general.

Princess Celestia sat on a balcony of her castle, overlooking her capital city. She’d been watching for some time, anxiety betrayed only by an occasional flick of her ears or wings. It was silly, of course. There was no news to be seen from up here that she would not learn with greater clarity from the reports of her subordinates, yet somehow she felt compelled to watch over her little ponies in person. As far as she could see, all was well. The day was fine, the streets were busy with colorful ponies enjoying the holiday.

Sitting nearby, the princess’s aide, Day Planner, observed the set of Celestia’s jaw, the furrows of her brow. She opined, “You shouldn’t worry, Ma’am. I’m sure this pony’s reputation has been exaggerated by time and myth. We’ve faced villains who wanted to conquer our nation. Whereas Minty, by all accounts, is merely a clumsy and unlucky youth. How much harm can she really do?”

Celestia nodded, but said nothing. Then her ears perked up. Somewhere far from the palace, near the fair grounds, a sound arose, the sound of many pony voices crying out—and not in joyful celebration. This time the tone was different. Celestia squinted, and she witnessed a cloud billowing up, of the densest and blackest smoke she’d ever seen. It expanded rapidly and poured like a flood down the streets, while the cries of dismay increased, and she could just make out colorful specks moving in the streets as her little ponies fled.

Celestia’s dainty nostrils flared, and she reflexively scuffed the floor of the balcony with a golden shod hoof. “So…” she muttered grimly. “It begins.”

Soon…

A messenger hurried down the ornate hallway, his hooves clopping urgently against the polished marble floor. He rounded a corner, nearly colliding with a suit of armor, and skidded to a halt outside the doors of a conference room. Catching his breath, he rapped sharply on the heavy wood.

“Enter,” came the regal voice of Princess Celestia from within.

The messenger pushed open the door to find Celestia and Day Planner inside. “Your Highness,” he panted, “there is a situation requiring your immediate attention.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed with concern, and she lowered the report she’d been reading. “You have an update on the black smoke stampede?”

“What?” He blinked, confused. “No! It regards...” He hesitated, unsure how to phrase it delicately. “Your mother, the Queen. You must come at once.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. Without another word, she swept past the aide, her flowing mane and tail leaving a faint shimmer in the air.

The two smaller ponies scrambled to keep pace as they hastened to the throne room. As they neared the grand double doors, raised voices could be heard from within, a dissonant clamor punctuated by startled gasps.

Celestia flung the doors open with her magic to reveal a scene of chaos. Ponies milled about in agitated clusters, their eyes fixed upon the dais where the ornate throne sat—Celestia’s throne. There, perched regally atop its cushions, was Star Catcher, the pegasus mare now wearing the Platinum Crown and regarding the crowd with a serene, queenly air.

Luna stood at the base of the dais sporting a flustered expression. She noticed her sister’s arrival. “Celestia! Thank heavens you’re here.” She gestured helplessly toward the throne. “She simply wandered in and decided to start holding court as queen.”

Celestia frowned. “That’s unexpected. But I mean, she has authority to do that, does she not?”

For her own part, Star Catcher was addressing the ponies of the court. She said, “I am the Queen Mother of Equestria, and if I want more ice cream, I’ll have more ice cream!”

Celestia stepped forward so that Star Catcher would notice her and said, “Mother, the throne room is for official business of statecraft.”

“Right!” agreed Star Catcher. “Let’s get down to business, then. Scribe, take this down! I hereby decree that the letter W shall be stricken from the Equestrian language. Henceforth ponies shall use the letter ƿynn in its place.”

A mutter of surprise and puzzlement arose from the gathered croƿd. Celestia sighed and brought a hoof to her forehead. Luna stretched out a ƿing to nudge her sister and said, “You see? She’s gone mad with poƿer!”

Star Catcher leaned over to peer at the scribe. “Be sure there’s no W in that!”

It ƿas then that Courtly Conduct burst into the throne room, ƿith a scroll trailing along next to him in the gloƿ of magic. “Your Highnesses, your Royal Majesty! I have made an important discovery in the ancient records.”

All eyes turned to him, and Star Catcher prompted him to continue, “Very ƿell, please enlighten us!”

Courtly Conduct floated the scroll in front of him and magically unrolled it. “According to my research, The Queen Mother has no sovereign powers. She cannot enact laws or issue royal decrees.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Star Catcher exclaimed. “The burdens of governing a nation were starting to overwhelm me.” She hopped down from the throne and joined her daughters.

“However…” Protocol continued. “According to my reading, she does hold authority over all matters of the royal household and family.”

Princess Celestia quirked an eyebrow and prompted, “Such as?”

He made a show of examining his scrolls again before answering. “Well, for example… If you, Princess Celestia, were to become enamored of a fine stallion, then you would be required to seek the Queen Mother’s blessing before proceeding with that relationship.”

Celestia’s and Star Catcher’s eyes both widened, and they swiveled their heads to look at one another, while Princess Luna struggle to stifle some giggles.

Flustered, Celestia stammered, “I, um… Surely I must be old enough to make my own decisions about such matters.”

That brought a giggle from Star Catcher, but it was Luna who was overwhelmed with mirth, and she collapsed to the floor in helpless laughter, her wings quivering uncontrollably.

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie strolled out of the Canterlot train station. Or, better to say, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash strolled while Pinkie Pie bounced lightly along on her hooves.

“I hope we’re in time for the grand parade,” Twilight fretted. “Assuming we even get to see it, I mean. Pinkie Pie, you were pretty vague about what we came here for.”

Pinkie Pie responded, “Vague? What, no‽ I wasn’t vague. My pinkie sense told me that something big is happening here. A doozie! And I need to be here today, and you need to be here today.” She looked to her other friend. “You, Rainbow Dash, I dunno why you’re here.”

The colorful pegasus pony shrugged. “I overheard something about a doozie and didn’t want to miss that. Whatever it is.”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she launched into her explanation. “Well, you see, it all started when I was baking a cake for Mrs. Cake’s birthday. I was just about to add the sprinkles when suddenly my tail started twitching, my ears started flopping, and my nose started itching all at the same time! That’s never happened before, and I knew right away it must mean something super duper important was going to happen.”

She paused for a breath before continuing, her words tumbling out in a rush. “So I started thinking, what could it be? A party? A festival? A party festival? But then I realized, no, it’s gotta be something even bigger than that. Something that requires the attention of Equestria’s best party pony and smartest smarty-pants pony. And that’s when I knew we had to come to Canterlot!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “So you just decided to abandon the celebration we were already having in Ponyville and drag me along based on a hunch?”

“Not a hunch, Twilight Sparkle. A pinkie sense! And it’s never wrong. Well, almost never. There was that one time with the hydra, but that doesn’t matter. The point is, we need to be here, right now, because something big is about to go down. Something that could change the course of Equestrian history!”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “Sounds awesome. I’m in!”

Twilight sighed. “Fine, but if this turns out to be a wild goose chase, you owe me big time, Pinkie Pie.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight Sparkle. When have I ever steered you wrong? No, don’t answer that!”

But meanwhile, Minty and a different Pinkie Pie found themselves in an all-too-familiar situation, running for their lives from an angry mob. They raced through the streets, not sure where they were going, but pretty sure they didn’t want to be caught. “I just don’t know what went wrong!” wailed Minty. By this time the black formula had finally evaporated from her legs, and it hadn’t even left a stain.

“I think maybe we’ve lost them,” huffed Pinkie. She glanced back at Minty and yelled, “Just keep running, and look for… OIF!” She hadn’t been watching where she was going, and she’d smacked headlong into another pony. She sat back on her haunches and rubbed her head. “Sorry, sorry!” she said. Then she blinked at the vividly pink pony sitting in front of her rubbing her head.

Pinkie Pie blinked back and said, “What the hay? Who put a mirror here?”

Minty, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash gawped, wide eyed and slack-jawed with confusion and growing horror, at the perfectly pink predicament unfolding before them.

Pinkie Pie gasped and pointed a hoof at Pinkie Pie. “You… You must be my evil twin!”

Shocked, Pinkie retorted, “No, it’s you! You must be my evil twin!”

“J’ACCUSE!” Pinkie yelled, then she pounced on Pinkie and they tumbled, wrestling with one another. After a few moments Pinkie broke free and tried to run, but Pinkie was hot on her tail. Then Pinkie suddenly stopped and faced her pursuer, who skidded to a confused stop. Pinkie growfed and leaped at Pinkie, who turned and ran back the way they’d just come from.

“What in Celestia’s name?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Twilight, are you seeing this or did I make a crash landing on my head and not know it?”

Twilight Sparkle stammered, “I… uh… I see it, but I don’t believe it.”

By this time the two Pinkie Pies were chasing one another’s tails in a circle. Finally one managed to tackle the other from behind and get her in a head lock. She yelled out, “Rainbow Dash! I caught Pinkamena, lend me a hoof!”

“Nuuuu!” cried Pinkie. “Rainbow Dash is gonna make me into a dress. Minty, help!”

“Minty?” Pinkie Pie’s ears perked up and she looked around, then broke into a huge grin. Dropping Pinkie, she jumped up and bounced over to the confused green pony and gave her a crushing hug. “Minty!!”

Rainbow Dash glanced towards Twilight Sparkle, usually a good source of explanation for weird events. This time, however, she was struggling. “Uh… A changeling? But they never acted like this. Let me try something!”

Twilight’s horn scintillated with magic, and she called out, “WYSIWYG!” A purple light flared out to hit the two Pinkie Pies, and they bolt yelped and jumped.

“Hay, lady, that kinda stings!” one of them complained.

Twilight’s eye twitched, her mane spontaneously sprouted cowlicks, and she muttered to herself: “It didn’t work? That spell should have stripped away any transformation, illusion or disguise.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged and went over to Pinkie Pie and nosed at her. “You okay, Pinkie?”

“Gaaah! R-rainbow Dash? How did you even get here? And why do you have wings?”

“Wut?” Rainbow actually glanced back at her wings for a moment, wondering why Pinkie had chosen this moment to question their existence. They looked normal.

Meanwhile, Minty flailed helplessly in Pinkie’s iron grip. She gasped out, “Can’t… breathe…”

Minty finally managed to wriggle free from Pinkie’s overly enthusiastic hug, gasping for air. She eyed the colorful pegasus pony warily. “Rainbow Dash? But... you can’t be Rainbow Dash. You’re a pegasus!”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Well, duh. Of course I’m a pegasus. What else would I be?”

“But that’s impossible!” Minty sputtered. “Rainbow Dash is an earth pony. She couldn’t fly if her life depended on it.”

Twilight Sparkle finally seemed to recover from her existential crisis, shaking her head to clear it. “Hold on, let’s all take a deep breath and try to figure this out logically.” She turned and pointed a hoof. “Pinkie Pie, who is this other... you?”

Pinkie blinked slowly. “I’m not sure, Twilight. She says her name is Pinkamena, but I’ve never heard of an evil twin before.” She eyed her double suspiciously. “Although it could explain some things...”

The other Pinkie rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say I was evil, you did. I’m just as confused as you are!” She frowned at Minty. “And what’s this about Rainbow Dash being an earth pony? That’s crazy talk.”

Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs, scowling. “Yeah, I’m with... um, other Pinkie on this one. There’s no way I’d ever be an earth pony. Can you imagine how lame that would be?”

Minty huffed indignantly. “Well, I never! There’s nothing lame about being an earth pony.” She gestured towards the pink pony beside her. “My best friend Pinkie Pie is an earth pony, and she’s one of the most amazing ponies I know!”

Twilight held up a hoof, her eyes narrowing as she studied the strange gathering before her. “So let me get this straight. You two...” She pointed at Minty and the first Pinkie Pie. “...are claiming that the Rainbow Dash you know is an earth pony and can’t fly. But you...” She turned to the second Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. “...are absolutely certain that Rainbow Dash has always been a pegasus.” She frowned, deep in thought. “That doesn’t make any sense at all. Unless...” Her eyes went wide. “Oh! Oh my... I think I know what’s happening here!”

All eyes turned towards Twilight as she began to explain her theory in a rush of words. “I’ve read about this, but I never imagined I’d actually encounter it myself. You two...” She gestured at Minty and Pinkie. “You must be from a different timeline! A parallel universe where the reality we know has been altered in some way.”

Minty and Pinkie exchanged a confused glance while Rainbow Dash scratched her head with a hoof. “A... what now? You’ve lost me.”

But Twilight was on a roll now, her mind whirring with the possibilities. “Don’t you see? It’s the only explanation that makes sense! They know things that conflict with our world because they come from an alternate reality where the circumstances of Equestria’s history played out differently.”

She turned an eager gaze towards Minty and Pinkie. “You have to tell me everything! What’s different in your timeline? When did the split occur? Oh, I have so many questions!”

Pinkie Pie grinned and threw a foreleg around Minty’s shoulders. “Well, you heard the smart pony! We’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!”

However, before any discussion could delve into the intricacies of parallel universes and alternate timelines, their conversation was abruptly cut short by the arrival of a contingent of royal guards. The armored ponies marched forward with purpose, their eyes fixed on Minty. The mint-green earth pony gulped nervously as the lead guard addressed her directly: “Minty, by order of Princess Celestia, you are to accompany us to the palace immediately.”

Minty’s eyes widened in surprise, and she glanced at Pinkie Pie for support. Her pink friend merely shrugged, equally baffled by the sudden summons. Rainbow Dash stepped forward, her wings flaring out in a protective stance. “Hey, what’s the big idea? You can’t just barge in here and start ordering ponies around!”

Twilight placed a calming hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Easy, Rainbow Dash! I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.” She turned to the guards, her expression curious. “May we accompany our friend to the palace? We have some rather pressing matters to discuss with the princesses as well.”

The lead guard hesitated for a moment before nodding curtly. “Very well. You may all come, but do not delay.”

With that, the group set off towards the palace, the guards forming a tight escort around them. As they walked, Pinkie Pie leaned in close to her alternate self, whispering conspiratorially, “Ooh, I wonder what the princesses want with Minty? Maybe they’re throwing her a surprise party!”

The other Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Somehow, I doubt that’s the reason.”

Upon arriving at the palace, the group was ushered into a grand hall where Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Star Catcher awaited them. The regal alicorns regarded the assembled ponies with a mix of curiosity and concern.

Celestia stepped forward, her voice gentle but firm, and said, “Minty, we have reason to believe that you and your companion have traveled through time from the earliest days of Equestria. Is this true?”

Minty blinked. “Uhh… Traveled through time?” She glanced at Star Catcher for reassurance.

The large, white pegasus offered a comforting smile before addressing the princesses, saying, “As bizarre as it sounds, I’d already begun to suspect what has happened. Minty and Pinkie Pie are from the same era as I am. We’ve all found ourselves in this future time through mysterious means.”

Luna’s eyes widened in realization. “Then the rumors of ancient coins appearing at the fairgrounds... that was your doing?”

Minty grinned sheepishly. “Oops, guess we should have been more careful with our bits.”

Pinkie Pie jabbed her lightly and chided, “That one vendor told us to go to a money changer and swap them for different bits, remember?”

Minty shrugged helplessly. “With everything going on, I forgot all about that.”

An increasingly frustrated Twilight Sparkle broke into the conversation. “Wait, wait! How could they have possibly traveled through time? And why are there two Pinkie Pies?”

Princess Celestia answered, “I don’t have those answers, Twilight Sparkle, but I hope you can help me solve the mystery—and craft the spell to return these ponies to the era they belong to. I believe it is absolutely necessary that we do so. Will you assist me with the research?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Of course, Princess! It would be my absolute pleasure.”

Pinkie Pie said, “See? I knew you needed to be here today.”

After some time, when all of the visitors had been situated and made comfortable in the palace, Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle made a short journey to the Royal Library and convened in a conference room along with a pair of research assistants borrowed from the library staff.

They began by pulling all material related to time travel, of which there was very little, and much of it was ancient and likely to be apocryphal. Twilight pondered aloud, “Hmm. Did Star Catcher tell you anything about how it happened that they were thrown forward in time?”

Celestia answered, “She said the balloon they were traveling in was caught in a storm and struck by lightning, and all three of them were knocked unconscious. It was after they awoke that Star Catcher first began to notice changes in their surroundings.”

Twilight flipped through a few pages of notes. “Well, it doesn’t sound like there was any enchanted artifact involved. The circumstances suggest a natural phenomenon, like a rift in the fabric of space and time. Maybe we could learn something by examining the balloon. Is it still here in Canterlot?”

“I should imagine so,” Celestia allowed. “I’ll send orders for it to be found and secured.” She wrote a note and passed it to one of the attendants.

“Can we be certain that somepony didn’t cast a spell on them intentionally,” Celestia then asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

Twilight considered for a moment, but then shook her head. “I don’t know, Princess. But who would do such a thing, and why? If it were the case, we need to find out who’s responsible and stop them before they cause any more damage to the timeline.”

Celestia nodded gravely. “You’re right, Twilight. The consequences of altering history could be catastrophic. We must proceed with the utmost caution.”

Twilight bit her lip, lost in thought for a moment. “I think our best course of action is to focus on finding a way to send them back to their own time. If we can do that, then any changes they might have made to the timeline should be erased.”

“I concur. But how do we do that without knowing how they got here in the first place?”

“Well, I have a few ideas.” Twilight levitated a stack of books from the table and began flipping through them rapidly. “There are some theoretical models for reversing the effects of time travel. It’s never been done before, but I think with enough research and experimentation, we might be able to figure it out.”

She then singled out a tome and pushed it forward on the table. She said, “Here’s the time travel spell of Starswirl the Bearded, which I have used before. He was one of the first Unicorns to even investigate the possibility of time travel. However…” She gave a dainty little snort of frustration. “We can’t use this spell as written. It’s far too limited. I was only able to travel back in time one week, and I could only stay half a minute before snapping back to my own time.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, but this situation is different. Our three ponies are already displaced from their natural time. Instead of casting a new time travel spell, maybe we only need to break the one that brought them here. After all, snapping back to their proper time isn’t a problem. It’s what we want to happen.”

Twilight blinked and pondered that for a moment. “So we have two possible strategies. Use Star Swirl’s spell, or try to disrupt the magic that brought them here. Or, maybe Star Swirl’s spell itself would do that?”

Celestia nodded. “I remember your report on that incident.” Then she winced and brought a hoof to her face, to rub the top of her muzzle, as if a painful realization had just come to her. “Oh, of course! That sly old goat! All these centuries I’ve thought his time travel spell was a failure, practically useless. It’s not useless at all. We were using it for the wrong thing. He must have known about all of this.”

Twilight blinked. “He did?”

Celestia sighed and explained, “I’m guessing he did because Star Catcher told him about it—or is going to tell him after we send her back. So, he created this spell as the solution. It was always intended to return time travelers back to their native era. The initial effect of sending a pony back in time was only included so the more important second part of the spell could be tested.”

Understanding dawned on Twilight’s face. “Amazing! But it seems like a paradox. I mean, if Star Swirl had to hear about Star Catcher’s time travel before he could invent the spell, how would she have gotten back there to tell him?”

Celestia shook her head. “I must presume this is not the way events could ever play out naturally. And if that’s the case, then it could mean the timeline is already beginning to loop inward on itself.”

Twilight fidgeted. “That’s a bad thing, I’m guessing.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps this is how a damaged timeline heals itself. There’s too much we still don’t understand about time travel, and it’s only a guess anyhow. But if I’m right, then it would mean the past has already been altered. Our imperative is to make sure it isn’t altered any further in a way that erases all of us from history.”

Twilight gulped and said, “Princess, I… I don’t always do my best work under this kind of pressure.”

Celestia tsked gently at her student and said, “Twilight Sparkle, I know that’s not true. It seems to me that you’ve been… erratic, I might say… only when faced with problems that were inconsequential, such as a late friendship report. Whenever the fate of Equestria has rested on your back, you’ve carried it brilliantly.”

Twilight blushed and said, “I’m never going to hear the end of that Smarty Pants thing, am I?”

“I hope not. I also hope you’ll never hear the end of that Nightmare Moon thing, that Discord thing or that changeling invasion thing. You’ve earned my trust. You should trust in yourself now.”

Twilight nodded. “I’ll try.” She took a deep breath and focused on the book again.

Celestia smiled, her eyes shining with pride. “If anypony can do it, Twilight Sparkle, it’s you. I have complete faith in your abilities.”

Twilight blushed at the praise, but her expression quickly turned serious again. “Thank you, Princess. But we’ll need to work quickly. The longer they stay in our time, the greater the risk of something going wrong.”

“Of course. I’ll make sure you have all the resources and support you need. In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on our visitors and make sure they don’t inadvertently cause any more disruptions.”

She rose to her feet, about to leave, but then Twilight said, “Wait!” She looked up at Celestia with wide eyes and said, “Does this mean Star Swirl was your…?” She trailed off.

“My father? I’ve long suspected that he might be, for a few reasons, but this seems to practically confirm it. I hardly think it likely that he would have created a time travel spell to bring Star Catcher back from the future if he wasn’t the same unicorn mage who had to be involved in my creation, and my sister’s as well.” She hesitated for a moment, while Twilight absorbed that information. Then Celestia added softly, wistfully, “I wish I’d known him better.” Without further comment, she turned and left the room.