Twilight stood in silent shock as the Princess of Shadow strode into her house. How should she refer to Nightmare Moon? Princess Moon? No, that didn't sound right. Princess Nightmare? That made a little more sense, but still did not seem right.

"Umm...fine, your majesty," She said as calmly as she could.

"Back early, are we?" Nightmare Moon asked, making her way into the kitchen.

"Yeah...yeah, I am," Twilight was eager to change the subject, before Nightmare Moon asked her something she couldn't answer. "And what brings you here so early?"

Nightmare Moon turned to look at Twilight, with her icy blue eyes. "I trust you came to an agreement, then," She spoke coldly, ignoring Twilight's question.

Twillight's mind was working furiously. Agreement about what? Twilight thought frantically at where she could possibly have been. Judging from the dust on the surfaces in her home, she must have been gone for awhile. But gone where? Where would Nightmare Moon possibly have reason to send her dystopian-leader protegee to discuss something apparently very important. Twilight knew she was grasping at straws, but she didn't have a choice. She had to answer Nightmare Moon's questions.

"Yes, yes we did. They shouldn't be a problem anymore," Twilight cursed herself for the riskiness of that last sentence, but Nightmare Moon didn't seem to have a problem with it.

"Are you expecting a guest this late in the evening, Twilight Sparkle?" She asked, looking around the empty house.

Twilight's heart skipped a beat. How did she know Fluttershy was here?

"No, Princess, I wasn't. But you're always welcome to stay, if you want."

Nightmare Moon smiled at this, and Twilight couldn't exactly tell whether that smile was of gratitude or of suspicion.

"It appears I entrusted our guards with too much during your absence. Fluttershy's escape was obviously made possible by someone in Ponyville," Nightmare Moon turned towards the stairs and climbed them slowly. Seeing nothing of interest on the upper floor, she turned back to Twilight.

"So, you won't be staying?" Twilight asked nervously, eager for Nightmare Moon's departure.

"Thank you, my loyal student, but that won't be necessary. I have business to tend to with the Royal Guards and their negligence. We shall discuss the details of your journey later."

"Of course, Princess..." Twilight tried to finish her sentence off with a convincing smile, which seemed to appease the Princess of the Night.

"Have a good night, my faithful student."

With that, Nightmare Moon turned and left Twilight's house, closing the door behind her.

If she would have turned to look back at the library, she would have most likely seen a yellow pony with a short pink mane hiding behind a thin branch on the uppermost platform. Instead, she continued to walk, closing the gate with her magic behind her.

"Something is wrong here," She said to her royal guards, bat-like ponies, unlike the guards in Ponyville. "For safe measures, don't let Twilight Sparkle leave without my approval."

The guards nodded and one flew of to tell the others.

As soon as Twilight saw that they were gone, she quickly dashed up her steps to her upper floor.

"Fluttershy? You can come out now, she's gone," No answer. Twilight frantically searched the room for Fluttershy, before hearing the sound of nervous breathing through the thin leaves overheard.

"Fluttershy! The coast is clear!" She called, loud enough for Fluttershy to hear. Momentarily, the timid pony pushed the unlocked window open and crawled back into the library.

"What did she say?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Did she mention me?"

"Uhh...sort of. She seemed rather suspicious of me," Twilight sipped her chamomile tea, and tried to calm her beating heart. "But that doesn't matter, because we're leaving here tonight. Do you know a way out of Ponyville without using the main gates?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Not that I know of. I got in here by flying... doesn't look like I'll be getting out the same way."

"I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you...losing your wings, I mean."

"I appreciate your concern," Fluttershy replied, looking down at the floor. "But I don't really want to talk about it."

Twilight weighed their options. Flying out was off the table. She couldn't just walk through the gate with Fluttershy, especially not with Nightmare Moon in Ponyville. Tunneling under the fence seemed like an alright plan, providing they could find a shovel, and Twilight knew full well there would not be one in Ponyville. She had to consider the fact that every second Fluttershy spent out of hiding was one she was in lethal danger.

"Well, looks like we only have one option then. We're teleporting through."

Fluttershy looked up in surprise. "You're alright with doing that? But I thought it was incredibly dangerous!"

"It might be, and I didn't really want to. First of all, it produces a rather loud bang and a bright flash, meaning any chance of escaping Ponyville silently is pretty much impossible. The guards will most definitely hear us, and I don't think either of us are capable of outrunning them. And, finally, its entirely possible that the fence is designed to deter from teleporting through anyway...and even if it isn't.." Twilight realized she was painting a rather grim picture of Fluttershy's fate, so she stopped talking.

The two sat in silence for a bit, before Twilight spoke again. "I'll go first. I'll teleport through my electric barrier to make sure its safe, and then I'll teleport you through."

"What if it isn't safe?" Fluttershy asked, showing concern for Twilight's well-being for the first time.

"Well then I'm sure you'll find out pretty quickly. Judging by what I've seen so far in this Equestria, I'm willing to bet that fence gives you more than just a little shock."

The two mares gazed through the rear window of the library at the landscape beyond the fence. The two gates were rather far from the library, meaning they just might be able to get some distance covered before the guards even made it over the fence.

"Alright, so, here's the plan," Twilight said, ducking under the window and motioning for Fluttershy to do the same. "The other side of the fence is pretty close, so I should probably be able to teleport us from inside the house. This means the guards won't hear the first teleport "bang."'

"But they'll hear the second, since we'll be outside at that point," Fluttershy finished.

"Exactly. Which means that assuming there's no electric field, I'll be teleporting you over immediately, so be ready for that. As soon as we're on the other side, we need to run as fast as we can. This should take us..." Twilight frowned, trying to recall how the view from her rear window looked back home. She remembered there being thick bushes, but here, the land stretched in harsh, desolate plains for miles, uninterrupted by foliage. Past the thick bushes at home, she seemed to recall the distant outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight looked in the direction of the farm, to the north west, and saw only industrial smokestacks and a large abandoned factory in the distance. She knew that if she continued north from where they were now facing, they would eventually come across the river created by the vast, beautiful waterfalls of Canterlot. She saw no reason why they wouldn't be there... the geography of this Equestria WAS the same, after all.

"Well, Fluttershy, I guess its now or never," Twilight said simply, giving up on trying to find out what lied ahead. "Are you ready?"

Fluttershy gulped and nodded slowly.

Twilight backed up, and instructed Fluttershy to stand clearly in sight from the window as soon as she saw her leave. Twilight looked at her destination long and hard, memorizing ever last detail. She'd used her teleportation abilities many times with ease, but never under this much pressure. She had to be sure she didn't mess this up.

Twilight closed her eyes, the image of the straggly, dead trees on the other side burned into her mind. She tried her best not to focus on the electric fence, knowing full well she could accidentally teleport her or Fluttershy into it. Deciding it would be best to just get this over with before thinking any longer, Twilight's horn began to radiate pink light. Then, for a brief moment, there was nothing, as Twilight instantaneously traveled beyond the fence.

Fluttershy had very little time to react, before she, too, was teleported next to Twilight. Without missing a beat, the two ponies dashed on into the night. For a short while, the only sound was that of Fluttershy's armor rustling as she sprinted, but after a few seconds, the two mares could hear an alarm shrieking into the night, as Nightmare Moon's Royal Guards tore into the air.

Twilight heard Fluttershy scream in surprise when she turned to face Ponyville. Turning to do the same, Twilight saw two pegasi darting across the air towards them. They would be upon them in a a few seconds.

"Do something, Twilight!" Fluttershy cried.

Twilight's horn instantly started glowing pink, and instantaneously, she and Fluttershy were teleported a short distance ahead. Fluttershy yelped in surprise and nearly lost her footing. Behind them, the pegasi increased speed and quickly covered the distance they'd teleported. She teleported them again, only to be met with the same problem. Twilight knew that if she kept this up, she would eventually tire herself out, and they would catch up. Instead, she stopped running and faced the oncoming ponies.

"What are you, crazy?" Fluttershy screamed, seeing Twilight standing there. Suddenly, Twilight's horn flickered to life again, and two quick lasers of magic shot out, striking the pegasi. Fluttershy rejoiced at this, finally stopping her run and rejoining Twilight.

Twilight watched in horror as the two pegasi suddenly started spiraling out of control, before hitting the hard dirt ground with a resolute thud. Twilight was certain she had heard a sharp snap as the two ponies hit the earth headfirst.

"No...no, no no..." Twilight repeated, over and over, eyes fixated on the limp bodies of the two guards. Fluttershy was looking at Twilight with a confused expression, and Twilight finally broke her gaze with the motionless pegasi and faced her friend. "I didn't mean too... it...it was an accident... I just wanted to stop them, not...I panicked..."

"Twilight, those ponies were trying to kill us. I guess its unusual for you to see this sort of thing, but killing and death isn't that uncommon around here."

All this coming from the mouth of the Element of Kindness. Twilight could hardly believe it. She may have just committed murder. What would Celestia say? In Equestria, only a few murders had been committed, throughout all of history, and the punishment had always been the same. Banishment. Permanently. Twilight started to walk towards the fallen guards to help, but Fluttershy stopped her.

"Umm, Twilight, I realize you're broken up over this, but don't you think we should...continue escaping?" She said nervously, pointing at the lights of Ponyville behind them and the earthbound ponies springing to life.

Twilight could see the desperation in Fluttershy's eyes, and knew she was right. Still, the guilt was there, and Twilight wondered if it would ever go away.

Behind them, earth ponies and unicorns scoured the land with flashlights for their pegasus leads, while large searchlights cut through the darkness. The sound of the sirens in Ponyville grew muffled by distance as the two mares continued on into the night.

In time, Fluttershy and Twilight slowed their pace, as it became evident they had shaken their pursuers. Twilight decided it was safe to stop, at least for a few minutes, and she motioned for Fluttershy to do the same.

"Where exactly are we headed, Fluttershy? You know where the other four are, right?" Twilight Sparkle asked, glancing around behind them, as if to see them standing there.

"Of course! Umm... lets see..." Fluttershy thought for a minute about where she and Twilight were, trying to orient herself. "They should be...umm, Rainbow Dash had given it a special name..." Fluttershy gave up on trying to remember the name, and decided she should just describe it. "Its a huge mountain, Rainbow said it would be perfect, since we had a clear view of the land in case anypony tried to attack. And there's a huge lake, and some small waterfalls..."

"Canterlot?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Yes! That's right, Canterlot! How did you know?"

Twilight shrugged. "It's the same thing in my Equestria, but there's a huge city built into the side of the mountain, and no lake. Its the most royal place in all of Equestria!"

Fluttershy pondered this for a moment. "Is your princess nice?" She asked cautiously.

"Princess Celestia? Fluttershy, you would love her! She is the wisest and most powerful pony in all of Equestria! We actually have two princesses in my Equestria. There's Princess Luna, as well. She's kind of intimidating, but she means well, and she's very kind."

Twilight saw tears watering in Fluttershy's eyes as she spoke. "I've heard stories about the two sisters here. They forbid most ponies from talking about them," Fluttershy looked down at the dirt. "I wish I lived in your Equestria, Twilight. I don't want to be here anymore," Fluttershy was crying now, and Twilight moved to comfort her.

"Fluttershy, I know its hard, but can you tell me what happened to Princess Celestia?"

Fluttershy sniffled and looked up at Twilight. "Nopony really knows for sure. Rainbow Dash seems to think she was banished to the sun, and one day she'll return to rescue all of us from Nightmare Moon."

"Where I come from, Fluttershy, the six of us are the ones who stop Nightmare Moon. Do they allow ponies here to talk about the Elements of Harmony?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. But that's about all we're not allowed to say. Harmony, sunlight, and Celestia."

Twilight remained quiet for a long while. In time, Fluttershy's breathing grew lighter and Twilight could faintly see her closed eyes in the dark. Twilight realized it had been at least two or three days since she herself had gotten sleep, but she knew better than to let her guard down. Twilight sat thinking in the dark for what must have been hours.

She remembered what Princess Celestia had told her about interfering with this realm. Twilight couldn't remember a time when she deliberately disobeyed the Princesses orders, but now, more than ever, she felt she had to. She knew now why she was sent into this world, and no threats of impending banishment could sway her from her goals.

In time, her mind strayed to the two pegasus guards. Were they still lying there out in the cold, or had one of the other guards found them, and saw what she did. Twilight couldn't decide which was worse. She knew there was a faint chance they were alive, but she wasn't about to get her hopes up for it. She thought about the gallows, the amputated pegasi, and the dingy cell Fluttershy starved in for days, tried to rationalize that she shouldn't feel sympathy for them, but it was fruitless.

Twilight had been meaning to ask Fluttershy just how she and her other four friends managed to avoid imprisonment for so long, and why Fluttershy had chose to come back to Ponyville. She told herself those questions could wait until morning, before remembering that it would never come.

Nightmare Moon paced furiously across the library, before turning to face the guards gathered by the door.

"Do you have any idea...any idea AT ALL, how much chaos your incompetence has created? Do you have ANY CLUE? Not only did you let a clear and obvious threat to Equestria escape a LOCKED PRISON CELL, but you let her AND her accomplice escape a fenced in TREE?"

"Your majesty, we did not know Twilight Sparkle had gone rogue until last night. If you would have simply..."

Nightmare Moon gave him a deathly stare. "If you know whats good for you, you would stop speaking to your princess in that tone, you pathetic worm. I do not want to hear any of these excuses. I do not want to hear about why there was no magic shield put around Ponyville, why two perfectly competent pegasi guards were nearly killed, or why you unicorns did not simply immobilize them with magic. Most importantly, I do not want to argue about these matters with you peasants. I chose you to be my royal servants because I saw promise in you. Would you perhaps like to join the ranks of the residents here in Ponyville? I'd be happy to oblige..."

A terrified murmuring rose amongst the gathered company. Many looked at their surviving extra appendages, envisioning what would become of them once they no longer had the right to their possession. Only one guard had the courage to speak.

"Princess, permission to speak freely..." He received a curt nod from Nightmare Moon, so he continued. "Why has Twilight Sparkle joined ranks with the rebels? Surely she realizes their defeat is imminent."

"I do not know the answer to that question, nor do I see any reason to answer it even if I did. It does not matter WHY Twilight Sparkle has joined the rebels, the only thing that matters is that she's done it," Nightmare Moon scanned the faces of Ponyville's Royal Guard, and dismissed them with one final remark. "You ponies have one last chance. Be thankful for it. I want security doubled on all the gates, a magic barrier in place, and a manhunt for Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy in operation within the hour. I will provide a reward to your party if you can bring me the two of them alive. You are dismissed."

After the guards had left, Nightmare Moon turned to look around the library.

"Why indeed, Twilight Sparkle," She said to the empty house. "Why indeed."

Fluttershy awoke after sleeping for around five hours, to see Twilight staring up at the stars. She walked slowly over and sat down next to her.

"I'd meant to ask you last night, but I fell asleep..." Fluttershy began sheepishly. "Why did you come to this Equestria in the first place?"

"To help, I suppose," Twilight said, yawning. "I don't exactly know myself..."

"But, surely there must be reason why Celestia would send you! Why would our Equestria be so important if there really are so many others?"

"Well, she must have known something about my position here. Anypony else would have been killed as soon as they were seen approaching Ponyville. As for why...well, I mean, its just a guess...but...I don't think it would be possible for me to travel to any others..."

Fluttershy looked at Twilight with wide eyes. "Why not?"

Twilight sighed as she tried to simplify something she was skeptical about herself. "The mirror pool is like a gate, right? A door between two worlds? Well, doors only ever have two sides. So, while there are certainly other alternate Equestria's, this one is the only one we can directly travel between. I mean, we can pluck other ponies from their respective realities, but I don't think we can travel safely between them."

Standing now, Twilight cast a furtive glance back to where they had come from.

"What about you? Why did you come back into Ponyville if it was such a terrible place?"

Fluttershy swatted the dirt with her hoof. "Back? I'd never been to Ponyville before. Rainbow Dash sent me to... to break into your library...sorry about that..."

Twilight laughed. "You don't have to be sorry, Fluttershy! It isn't my library, after all. But why? What were you expecting to find in there?"

"A clue about where you'd gone, I suppose. Rainbow Dash seemed to think Nightmare Moon was preparing another attack, and wanted to know the details. I didn't count on the alarms when I flew over the fence..."

"An attack? Against who?"

Fluttershy gave another sheepish grin. "We aren't far from Canterlot, now. I think it'll be better if you see them in person."