Chapter 8: Welcome to Ponyville!

“How... how did you know..." Chance was speechless, looking at her reflection in the mirrors surrounding her. The pony she saw reflected there looked like a stranger, a graceful and beautiful stranger. So long as she held still, it was easy to imagine that she was not a strange and sometimes unwelcome visitor from another universe. For a few wonderful seconds, she saw a glorious vision of another filly entirely. The daughter of some noble unicorns from the far off castle city of Canterlot, graceful and demure with a wonderful future. The sort of filly who didn't lay awake at night with nightmares of awful things in other universes far away.

"The clothes do make the mare, don't they?" Rarity murmured, more to herself than to Chance. If Chance had been aware enough to notice, she would have seen Rarity glowing with pride at Chance's reaction. It was easy to tell a happy customer when she saw one.

"But.. but..." She stammered, before finally adding. "It looks so much like... like..." Chance looked again into the mirrors. The gown had been tailored perfectly to her every dimension, so much that it seemed to flow over her body. What amazed her was not how well made it was, though. After Twilight's praise of the fashionista's work, she had expected only the best and was not disappointed. What amazed her was that the gown looked so very familiar to her.

Like many modern fashions, it was a work of contrasts. White cloth formed the base, with grey and yellow layered in geometric patterns on top. The garment itself was quite thin, made from an elastic material not unlike spandex. A pair of black boots completed the ensemble, made of something that was almost leather. Had it not been for the hole for her tail, she would have thought her reflection wasn't pony at all.

It was as though she had seen this very dress before, though she couldn't remember where. Rarity had recreated it with perfect accuracy, dredged from her unknown past. Finally, she collected herself. "Rarity, where did you get the idea for this design? It's so... modern!" Well, almost. What little she remembered about this dress, Chance knew it was from the happy part of her life, the part before the fire that turned happy dreams into nightmares.

Rarity looked as though she didn't entirely understand the meaning of the question. "Many other artists have been asked the source of their inspiration dear, and few have been able to answer." Was she actually glowing, or was that just Chance's imagination? "But since you're wondering, I can relate a little of the story." She leaned in close, lowering her voice as if she was about to share something secret and very precious. "After our interview, I was simply lost for inspiration. Don't get me wrong dear, you seemed like a perfectly respectable little filly, but you were so different from any of my other clients. Not in a bad way. Different often means better in the world of fashion. Besides, you were Princess Twilight's apprentice. No way was I going to slap together some second-rate collection of scraps and call it an outfit!"

"Twilight's a mover and shaker now, the most important pony in all of Ponyville! She moves with the elite, with royalty even! She is royalty! Since she commissioned me, I rightfully assumed she intended you to be properly attired to accompany her on her social climb! That called for something unique, something that would give you character."

"For a full day I drafted different designs for this gown, searching for the perfect dress. Unfortunately, nothing came of any of it, and I decided to sleep on it. The next morning, it was as if a marvelous light had been switched on! I saw this wonderful gown, and even though I knew it was going to be a tad more ambitious than most projects for a pony so young, it would have been a crime against fashion not to make it a reality! The casual outfit was based loosely on this design, though since it's made for daily wear it isn't nearly this elaborate."

Chance nodded. Fashion was hardly her first concern, but she had to admire the job Rarity had done. It was hard to imagine a more perfect dress, even if it clearly hadn't been designed for winter. "I love it." She rotated slowly, afraid she might tear something if she moved too quickly. Once she was facing Rarity and away from the mirrors, she smiled. "Your little sister isn't going to be back soon, is she? I'd love to show her how pretty this is."

"Oh, Sweetie Belle has already seen it, dear. You two are nearly the same height, so I used her to help finish some of the more difficult bits. The transparent stitch holding the mesh sections in particular was quite challenging. Of course, it would have been easier if she hadn't squirmed so much..." She trailed off.

"And she's not coming back soon?"

Rarity looked away, almost as though she was embarrassed about something. "No, Chance, she's... she's... sledding! Yes!" She nodded vigorously. "With those adorable little friends of hers. Now that Scootaloo is back on her hooves after that cold, they're eager to take advantage of every moment!" Before Chance could put together the impetus to reply, she pushed a plain brown box toward her. "Why don't you go back into the changing room and try on your winter outfit!"

Feeling suddenly helpless, there was nothing she could do to resist. Rarity's magic "assisted" her into the changing room, slamming the door shut behind her. "Be sure to hang the gown up carefully, dear! We wouldn't want it to wrinkle now!" The filly frowned up at the hanger, and at the closed door. Why on earth did these ponies who usually wore nothing at all have a changing room? What was worse, it seemed like Rarity was hiding something from her. Had Pinkie Pie finally got to Sweetie Belle? Sure, she had claimed that she was satisfied with Chance as a "real pony", but could she be sure? Even Twilight didn't seem to know how to predict what the earth-mare was going to do. It was hard to imagine someone as nice as Sweetie Belle being mean to her, but that was the way it seemed. And Rarity was covering for her. So much for her only friend her age.

She was looking and feeling glum by the time she had changed out of the dress, which took nearly twenty minutes. Her body was immensely flexible, but even so it was a careful technique to squeeze out the back of the dress. It was a good thing it was made of something elastic, or else she probably would have torn it several times before she escaped. Once she had finally managed to strip out of the dress, she hung it carefully on the bar evidently placed in the changing room for that purpose.

Even her wonderful winter outfit couldn't lighten her mood. Maybe the word "outfit" was a tad strong, as that implied something that actually preserved her modesty. Of course she hardly felt as bothered about that sort of thing as she felt she ought to be, though she couldn't understand why. There were reasons you were supposed to cover as much of your body as you could, but she couldn't remember what any of those reasons were. They clearly didn't matter in this world, where almost everyone went around without any clothing at all unless function required it. Fashion couldn't be an easy field to get into in a world where most ponies went around with nothing but their fur.

The winter outfit consisted of four tubes like big socks, which were thicker on one end and thinner on the other. It took her nearly another twenty minutes to pull on all four. None went all the way down to her hooves, leaving several inches of leg clear so as to keep out of the snow. The cloth was thicker and less flexible, though Rarity had kept the geometric motif and used yellow hexagons in a color to match her mane on some sort of dark background. She found herself suddenly admiring the effort the unicorn must have invested to get such straight lines. No doubt she had probably had to make the fabric herself, since she doubted very much there was anywhere in Equestria where ponies wore human fashions. There was also a scarf, in the exact same color and pattern as the socks.

That was it, no other accessories or other parts to the outfit that might have made it more complicated. At first she was surprised to see so little in the box, but understanding dawned quickly. A complex outfit would get soiled quickly and might restrict her movements or wear out. Already she had started feeling much warmer, as though the very cloth was magical. She supposed she couldn't be sure it wasn't magic, since everything else in this world seemed to be. The outfit would probably do wonders for her out in the cold and the snow.

She was a little surprised that Rarity never once pressured her to go faster, with how much time she took in the changing room. She was even more surprised when she emerged from the room, and Rarity was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a familiar purple dragon was reclining on a cushion in the lobby, and munching on a gemstone with an expression of obvious contentment.

"Rarity? You’re not Rarity, Spike. At least not last time I checked." She said, approaching him cautiously. "When did you get here?"

Spike finished chewing the large bite he had taken before answering. "Just a few minutes ago. Rarity trusted me with the boutique." He practically beamed as he said that, as proud of Rarity's trust in him as the mare had been of Chance's satisfaction with the elegant gown.

Chance nodded, closing the distance to the cushion and looking over at him. "Equestria has rock candy too, huh?" Up close, the blue stone in his claw seemed brighter and more lustrous than anything made of sugar had a right to.

Spike nodded. "Of course! This isn't rock candy though, it's sapphire! Juicy, delicious sapphire. Rarity gave it to me. That means I'm not sharing." Without another word, he popped the rest of the stone into his mouth and chewed with a sound like chewing on bits of glass. Chance didn't know if she ought to laugh or cry. There was no way those little jaws could generate enough force to even chip sapphire, much less break it up like sugar-glass! No living thing ought to be able to handle shards of precious stones in their digestive tract.

This hardly seemed like the time to think about this, though. "So where did Rarity go? Is she afraid of the evil space monster too?"

Spike seemed to be behind the loop, because his eyes suddenly went wide. "There's... there's an... evil space monster around?" He looked furtively to right and left. "Where is it?"

Chance couldn't help but smile faintly at that. Spike might laugh at her sometimes, but at least he didn't care where she came from. That was more than she could say from any of the other ponies she knew, except maybe Sweetie Belle. "Nowhere, Spike." She turned around, muttering darkly. "Pinkie Pie thought she sniffed one out, but I guess it was a false alarm.

"Oh, good. If Pinkie thinks we're safe, than we're safe." Spike got to his feet. "Are you ready? We've got to get back to the library. For... for some... studying. You know Twilight! If you're even off by a few minutes, she freaks out!" He smiled sheepishly, walking past her to the door. She couldn't see his expression and it was harder to tell with Spike, but for the second time today she felt like ponies were keeping things from her! Or at least one pony and one dragon.

"Sure Spike, studying." Rarity acted funny, then she vanished. Now Spike was doing it. Maybe back home Twilight Sparkle would give her some answers. "Let's go do that. That studying thing. That we do." She glared after him, then forced a smile. At least she would be able to show Twilight her neat winter outfit Rarity had made. And the gown had been amazing, even if everypony had suddenly started acting strange.

Chance followed Spike out the door, pausing near the threshold. It was still winter, and that meant the sun was already low in the sky, though it had to be mid-afternoon somehow. "Hey Spike, wait! Shouldn't we lock the door or something first? Rarity's got expensive things in there! Dresses and gems and stuff!"

Spike didn't even slow down. "Lock? Why would Rarity put a lock on her front door? How would ponies get in if we locked it?"

His confusion did little to reassure. It was as though he couldn't even conceive of the possibility that someone might come along and want to steal something. Just another aspect of how different her home was from Equestria. As usual, it seemed Equestria always looked better in comparison. Today's adventures notwithstanding. Chance had to dart after Spike to keep up with him, but that wasn't hard. Her legs were longer, and she could move far quicker than the reptile, particularly with the snow and the cold.

Spike never shivered on the snowy path, though Chance knew from talking to him that it made him very uncomfortable to be out here for any length of time. Being cold-blooded couldn't be easy in winter. "Hey, Spike?" She slowed down to match his pace, which was already dragging. It didn't help that the snow was up to his knees, and a stiff wind took freezing air and brought it all around them. Chance hardly felt it. Was the outfit really magical, or were its effects merely psychological? She had no answer. "You don't look so good."

"Snow." He replied, limbs drooping. Poor thing did not look good at all. "Hate snow."

"Would you... I mean, I'm a pony, right? Where I come from, that's what ponies were usually for. Horses, at any rate. I bet you would feel better up on my back, away from the cold."

"Really?" It was though all the color came rushing back into his face. It would've been, if she could see any through the scales. She could hear the energy in his tone, though. Almost as though he had been pulling her leg to elicit this precise reaction. "Don't mind if I do!" He turned and hopped smoothly onto her back, resting atop the soft cloth of her saddle-bags. Spike was not a big dragon, but she was not a large pony, and she felt the weight.

She twisted her head back to look at him, glaring. "You sneaky dragon."

Spike looked indignant. "Who, me? Nonsense! I'm just an extremely grateful dragon, is all! You saved me from a cruel fate! I'd be a dragon-sicle if it weren't for you!"

"Sure." Chance looked ahead and started walking down the path she knew led back to the library. By her estimation it couldn't even be a full city block all the way, even at her plainly small size. "Doesn't make sense equanoids would've evolved to sentience anyway." She muttered, looking down. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts she didn't notice all the shutters in the library were closed, and everything looked dark inside. "I'm a silly pack animal."

"No!" Spike defended, evidently ignoring that first remark. "You're an extremely helpful pony who's helping a friend in need!"

"Whatever, Spike." She tried not to smile, but she couldn't help herself. Maybe he was right about that. Even if, come to think, this world didn't make much biological sense. It was all coming back to her now, for reasons that she couldn't even imagine. Life developed because the strong survived to reproduce and passed traits on to the next generation. Back home strong had ultimately come to mean the largest brain, and the capacity to create tools to reshape and conquer nature. But here...

How could an animal with no apparent defense other than a speedy retreat ever outperform its competitors enough to develop their present brain-size? What about the wings and horns? How did evolution work in a world with magic? By her reckoning, the dragons ought to be the dominant species. Spike might be young, but he had already proved to be a stronger specimen than most ponies. To say nothing of the added advantage of surviving on rocks if necessary, and breathing fire. One day Chance would find the words to ask Twilight about it. Hopefully she could do it in a way that wasn't offensive.

"Well, here we are." Spike said from behind her. As she thought, she hadn't noticed their arrival, and had stood in front of the door without doing anything for at least a minute. When his first pronouncement didn't seem to be enough, he added again. "Well, here we are!"

"W-wha-?" Chance blinked, then realized she had reached the library. "O-oh! Sorry Spike!" She leaned forward, braced her head against the door, and pushed. It had a knob, but like every knob Chance had yet seen it served no purpose other than the decorative. As such, she ignored it, and walked into the empty library.

"The hay..." She muttered, nearly jumping out of her skin as the door abruptly shut behind her, plunging the library into darkness. "is..." The weight was gone from her back. "Spike! Spike, where ar-"

"SURPRISE!" Dozens of voices bellowed in unison, as the lights abruptly switched on.

The library had been transformed. In the few hours she had been gone, all the tables had been covered with bright orange decorations and piled high with all sorts of delicious treats. Streamers hung from all the walls, and balloons hung in the air all over. Of course, the strangest part wasn't all the decorations, but the sheer number of ponies packed into the library. Chance could hardly count them, dozens at the least. Most were adults, though a handful were her age or younger. All three tribes were in attendance; the ones with wings, the ones with horns, and the ones with neither. At first glance it seemed this group vastly outnumbered all others.

Foremost in front of her was Pinkie Pie, who at that moment depressed a key on what Chance could only assume was a bright pink cannon. Instead of a steel ball she was blasted with confetti. Then somepony started up some music, and the festivities began in earnest. Chance was practically drowned in a wave of well-wishing ponies, most of them adults. It seemed to her as though the entire town had found their way into her little library, and each wanted to express their welcoming and love to the town's newest resident.

Time blurred past, time spent somewhere between laughing and crying. Pinkie Pie had been right about one thing at least: She was great at parties. She was also great at throwing parties that seemed eerily similar to some she could dimly glimpse in her foggiest memories. The cake, the punch, the matching party favors. Except perhaps that this was by far the best attended and most luxurious party she had ever attended. That, and there was a disturbing lack of VR-based party games. She supposed living in a world of multicolored ponies would have to stand in for the VR.

"I don't understand..." She stammered after an hour or so, looking up at the pink party pony with the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Why would you do something so nice for me? You don't even know me."

Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Everypony deserves to be special sometimes, and being new is a great excuse! Now everypony in town will know who you are!" She smiled knowingly. "How's the cake? Almond, just like you said."

"It's great!" Chance echoed, though she privately had no desire to have anymore tonight. She'd already had three slices, and her stomach was looking a little bloated as a result. Twilight had ensured she never went hungry, but she'd never been allowed to have as many sweets as she wanted before! Come to think of it, where was Twilight? She'd been here for most of the party so far, but Chance didn't see her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar white unicorn, who was at that moment flanked by two other fillies. "Hey Second Chance!" Sweetie Belle grinned at her. "I'd like you to meet my friends Apple Bloom and Scootaloo!"

As it happened, Princess Twilight Sparkle had no intention of ducking out during any part of her apprentice's surprise welcome to Ponyville party. She took great personal care as the festivities began, intent on making sure her apprentice overcame the fear that Pinkie Pie had inadvertently put into her, along with that powerful desire to prove she was a "real pony", whatever that meant. Her plan was working wonderfully, and the filly seemed to be enjoying the attention and affection of the ponies of Ponyville.

Much to her relief, she was acting exactly like any other filly could be expected to act. This did not break with the pattern she had seen ever since Second Chance had arrived. Aside from her remarkable mastery of math and science, she seemed quite a bit like any other pony. Still, there was that lurking fear that at any moment she would reveal herself as some awful, horrible monster. It would be the changelings all over again, only this time it would be Twilight who let them in.

This was perhaps a final sign that that fear would never be confirmed. Whatever else her apprentice might be, it was remarkably equine in nature. That seemed very strange to her, suddenly. Her apprentice was an alien from another world, perhaps another universe! But without that knowledge, Twilight never would have guessed it. She never even considered what the filly might really be under all that fur.

There was a knock at the door, which was less than surprising as Pinkie Pie had invited the entire town and ponies were coming and going as their various schedules would permit, but something about this most recent time seemed strange. At least it did when a quavering Derpy Hooves gestured toward the door to Twilight, and muttered something like "Princess Moony-Pies!" before fleeing behind the refreshment table for safety.

There was nothing for the Princess of Magic to do but roll her eyes and walk to the door herself. It was, after all, her home. Perhaps she wasn't entirely surprised to see the pony waiting on the doorstep. Her eyes widened a little even so, and she couldn't suppress the urge to incline her head respectfully for a moment. She might be a princess too, but that didn't mean Luna deserved any less of her respect. "Princess Luna! I had no idea Pinkie Pie had been so... thorough... with her invitations!"

It was night then, or at least the beginnings of night. In the pale glow cast by the moonlight on the snow, Luna seemed to glow, her mane cascading down her back like so many curtains of stars. She was dressed as she always seemed to be, in the regal finery befitting her office. Nor did she seem to miss the ponies that had apparently seen her, prostrating themselves behind Twilight. Even so, there was a slyness to her smile "We think your apprentice would enjoy her party better without the guests groveling through the festivities." She winked at one of the ponies behind Twilight. The purple princess didn't quite have the guts to turn and see what his reaction had been, but she echoed the Moon Princess's smile.

"You're probably right. What brings you to Ponyville then, Luna?"

Luna gestured with her head. "Fly with me, Twilight Sparkle. We shall tell thee."

Without knowing what else to do, Twilight nodded and followed her out into the empty town, closing the door behind her with her magic. Luna had already taken off, but she was not flying very fast and it was easy for Twilight to keep pace even though her mastery of flight was still rudimentary at best. She did not take them far. Indeed, it seemed no sooner had they passed the borders of the town then she saw a ghostly carriage drawn up on the ground. Its guardians were spectral in the moonlight, dark and armored pegasus with wings Twilight did not look at long. Luna brought them past her chariot, to the edge of a high hill overlooking Ponyville.

That meant they weren't far from Sweet Apple Acres. The trees standing dark against the moon were probably apple trees. Luna said nothing for several minutes, simply looking down at Ponyville against the moon. It was very beautiful, with windows aglow and rooftops laden heavily with crisp white snow. Twilight was right to assume that the Lunar princess would speak up if she gave her enough time. In her experience with Luna, waiting patiently had usually won out. "Art thou aware of my royal duties, Twilight Sparkle?"

She nodded. "I think everypony is, Princess. Raising the moon every night, along with the wonderful job you do with the stars and everything. You probably did that just before coming to the party."

Luna nodded. "Indeed, though 'twas not what we meant." She took a deep breath. "You can learn much about a pony from their dreams, and dreams are part of my special talent. We see them, Twilight Sparkle. We swim the vastness of the Skien and into the minds of any and all of our sleeping ponies. We help them resolve what they will show to nopony else, often without them knowing we are there. We prefer it this way." There was a small smile on her lips. "Or had you not noticed there were fewer psychologists since we returned?"

This was not new information to Twilight, at least not in the way many of the things Chance told her were new information. She had read about this once, in some long-forgotten book about the days before Nightmare Moon. The Moon princess might not be as overt as her elder sister, but she was also much more personally involved, somehow able to intervene in the uneasy dreams of the entire kingdom at once. It was a subtle power, but in its way more frightening than anything Celestia did with the sun. So much so that Twilight had not dared ask the lunar princess about it, not in all the time since she had returned. "The psychologists can't be happy about it." She muttered, though she shared the princess's smile now.

"They are, Twilight Sparkle. Imagine how happy you would be if you had tailored your life around ensuring that everypony was healthy in spirit as well as in body, and finally before your eyes your wishes began coming true. Alas, we fear not every ill may be solved in dreamtime, and it is for this cause we have come to speak with thee."

Twilight nodded, beginning to understand. "This... has something to do with my apprentice, doesn't it?"

Luna did not answer, merely walked to the edge of the hill and looked down again. There was something powerfully sad about the way her head drooped just slightly. Luna always seemed a little sad when Twilight saw her, even when she was having fun.

She wasn't going to wait all night, though. After all, there was a party going on. "Luna, can I ask you a question?" She didn't wait for confirmation before asking. "Why is Chance so much like a pony?" She took a deep breath, before giving voice to what had been troubling her for the last several days. "When I first realized what she was, I expected her to be... you know, alien! But she isn't. She's a very silly filly, but not in any way I don't understand. I guess... I guess what I'm saying is I expected she would be more like Discord. He's an alien too, right? I mean, he isn't a pony..."

Again, she didn't wait for confirmation. Rather, she started picking up speed, talking faster and faster. "When you're around him, it's impossible to tell for sure what he's really thinking. What he really wants. But Chance isn't that way. She thinks like a pony! The things that make ponies happy make her happy. Maybe she's a little awkward moving around, and she's behind in learning to read, but otherwise she's so... normal! I don't understand, Princess. If she's from another world... another universe..." Then she lowered her voice, as she was saying something she didn't know if the princess knew. Celestia knew, she was sure, but she wasn't sure how much she had shared with her sister. Still, if she could tell Celestia she could tell Luna, right? It was hard not to when she was standing right there.

"Is she really as pony as she looks? Or was it your sister's spell that made her this way, and shaped whatever she was before into the filly she is now, erasing all the alien parts so she could fit into Equestria better? And if she's an average member of... whatever race she comes from... then does that mean that somewhere out there, on some strange world unlike Equestria, there are beings out there that are like us? Maybe they look different... probably radically different, considering how Chance sometimes moves around. But still, on the inside... it's a world full of ponies, members of the same herd?"

Luna turned away from the view and met her eyes for several long minutes. She seemed to be surveying Twilight, as if judging if it were wise to continue speaking. Eventually she sighed and looked away again, back at the city. A light dusting of snow had begun to fall, precisely on schedule. Twilight did not feel the cold anymore, but she did appreciate the way the moonlight seemed to make every snowflake glow. Take any individual moment, and she was suspended in a sparkling, glittering sea that stretched off into eternity. Her town was there, immutable and untouchable, frozen in perfect tranquility. Would the moon dierarch's words be as soothing as the place she had taken Twilight to hear them.

"We cannot step into the dreams of cows, Twilight Sparkle. Nor goats, or pigs. But thy assistant is a dragon, and him we see. And yet even ponies may pass beyond our sight. By reason of power, or because however much they might appear, their nature is not pony enough to share the same Skien. Sombra the king for instance, as you might well imagine. The apprentice is indeed the pony she seems, and her dreams are open to me. Since first meeting her, we have taken a hoof more direct than with any of our other ponies. She is..." Even the princess of the moon hesitated, as though she were unwilling to speak such vulgar terms aloud. She did though, eventually. "Damaged."

She was suddenly less than an inch from Twilight's face, looking intent. "The filly Second Chance has deeper wounds than any pony we have ever known. Her nightmares are darker than the one you know as Nightmare Moon could have conceived of." She shivered, and turned her eyes skyward. "At least we had the comfort of the moon on which to rest, and Equestria's shape below to keep us through the eons. When she first arrived, your Second Chance was returning from a nightmare that was blackness without end. A void without feature or form that stretched into eternities vaster than Equestria's entire history. That filly was alone in the dark for what were to her millions of empty years.

Twilight's eyes were wide, though she didn't dare speak. Luna was answering her question, in her own fashion. She had no doubt that Celestia would not have been nearly so forthright had she been in her younger sister's position. "Yet still, she endured. Neither my sister nor I understand how this is possible. Only Discord has experienced such things before, and he is markedly unwilling to be helpful in this as in most matters, reformed or no."

She returned her intense gaze to Twilight, who actually stumbled back a pace under the pressure. She couldn't remember any princess acting like this, not even when Equestria was actively in danger. Then again, it was rare for her to deal with Luna instead of her brighter sister. "From what we understand, the being you call Chance may have belonged to an ancient and powerful race, who lived long ago in a world of worlds beyond Equestria's nethermost reaches. Despite the gulf of space and time, their magical might is without equal. They have the ability to reach across the veil and give travelers passage into our world. Now it seems they have perfected the means to send ponies as well as ideas into Equestria. Do you think one traveler will suffice them?" She shook her head. "My sister and I agree this is not the case. If they can send one, they will send more. But how many more, and how they will send them, we do not know. No more have we decided what will be done when they do come."

"This race you're talking about... are they like us? Ponies like Second Chance?"

Luna shrugged. "Your assistant is a dragon, yet he is a pony in spirit. Celestia and I wish to understand if your apprentice is an exception, or the indication of a larger rule. Should we look forward to their coming with joy, or prepare ourselves for war?" She lowered her voice again, though she turned back to the view. "This is your task. Dreams are wonderful tools, but the information gleaned from them is suspect. Chance is an adroit dreamer indeed, and she recognized me at once for what I was. Still, that only makes what I learn there even more suspect, for a lucid dreamer can shape their world into whatever they please, real or imagined."

"Further, just because Chance believes what she tells me in her sleep does not mean she tells me the truth. Dreams are confusing enough for ordinary ponies, and your apprentice is not ordinary. This task falls to you, Twilight Sparkle. Despite all the odds, Chance is one of our little ponies. Even I do not begin to understand my sister's powers, yet with all her sight she too agrees on this."

"Just because the filly is one of ours does not mean her kinsfolk will be likewise. When they arrive, will they come in friendship? And if not, will Chance be a loyal pony still to help us weather the storm, or the foe of all Equestria? To this last, Twilight, we feel thou canst take a direct role. Help her see what makes Equestria great. Help her see that it is worth protecting, even from her own."

Twilight managed to make it back to the Library before the festivities had ended, though few ponies were left by the time she actually got there. Only her closest friends remained, along with three of Ponyville’s most rambunctious fillies. Celestia knows what could happen if Chance gets her ideas about pony society from the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She found herself thinking, though there was very little she could do about it now. Another blank-flank their age? There was no way to un-ring that bell.

The next day, when Chance's afternoon break arrived, she was hardly shocked that the filly asked to go play with them, promising fervently that she would return in time for her afternoon studies. Twilight was slightly more shocked that she said yes, watching from the door as they darted off to who knew what mischievous end.

Life began to sink into something like a routine, if anything in Ponyville could be called routine. The remaining month of winter passed away much like that. Twilight taught her apprentice how to read, practiced magic with her even though she just wasn't getting it, and her apprentice became just another face around Ponyville, with none but her close friends the fellow Elements even suspecting that there was something different about her.

Author's Notes:

Hey everybody, another chapter on time! Or down to the day, at any rate. Don't have an hour or anything, cuz' that sounds like way too much work. It's enough work to actually /write/ the story as it is! Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to comment or review. It's because of the positive (and critical) feedback I recieve that I'm still writing now, and it's the wonderful support that makes all the effort that goes into a bi-weekly update worthwhile. For those who care about such things, I've written some detailed notes on my thoughts creating act one, and they're in the tagged blog entry here: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/302618/production-notes-act-1 . Not that I /expect/ anyone to look at them, but they're there if you're curious.

And now, I depart. Until tuesday, awaaaay!