Twilight was dejected when they returned to the house. She sat on a chair, and Spike went over and hopped onto her lap. She hugged him as she stared at the empty fireplace. Spirit sat in the chair next to her and sighed. Twilight looked at him.

“Any chance of getting it now?” Spirit just shook his head.

“Nope. For pride alone they will tighten security, and if Celina guesses that the crown was the target, then she will likely move it elsewhere. For an empathetic and caring mayor, she can be quite secretive when she wants to be.” Spirit frowned and continued. “No, the only option left is that you try to win the crown in the contest. I can get you into that no problem. Being a sponsor has its benefits. As for how to win, you are on your own. The only advice I can give is to be yourself and to be honest with the people.”

“Yeah, be honest with them. ‘Hey folks, vote for me! I'm a Pony Princess from another world wanting my crown back. Why are you running away from me?’” Twilight shook her head at those thoughts, then looked over to her latest friend.

“Any big issues in the city?”

Spirit shook his head.

“None that I know of, sorry. But Celina runs the city pretty well. If you find one, go for it. Any little bit helps.” Twilight was about to reply when a yawn came out. It seemed the news sapped her energy tonight.

“I guess I’d better get to bed. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Getting up, she walked away. Spirit bade her goodnight and she headed upstairs.

Once in her room, Twilight sat on her bed and sighed.

“Well, this is going great, Spike. The crown gets stolen, and now my best chance to get it back is gone. And the most likely route to get it back is a popularity contest!”

“It could be worse, Twilight. We’re friends with Spirit. Imagine not having this place to stay! How long would your gems have lasted?” Twilight winced at that thought. Too used to being supported by Celestia with a stipend, she didn't have a steady income.

“Also, Twi, you do yourself a disservice. You are not that antisocial pony that came to Ponyville. You have been changed by our friends and they have been changed by you. You wouldn't be a Princess without them. Whether you can admit it or not, you are a popular pony back home. You can do this, Twilight. Have faith in yourself. Celestia has many times. So you have to win a popularity contest, big deal. Like it compares to Nightmare Moon, Discord, or Chrysalis.”

Twilight smirked at that. What was a little popularity contest compared to those?

“You're right Spike, I have faced worse things than this. I will find a way to get my crown back no matter what.” Another yawn came out. “Tomorrow.” She went to bed, with Spike laying down beside her.

In the morning, breakfast was a silent affair, the events of last night still on their minds. After cleaning up, they went out, and Spirit took Twilight back to City Hall. After going through the heightened security, they were directed to the mayor's office. There, Twilight saw Celina Sunray. She was a tall mare with long, bright gold hair that really shined in the sunlight. She turned to look at her guests and revealed magenta eyes and a warm smile.

“Ah, Mr. Cimarron. Good to see you.” Twilight was really creeped out. She just heard Celestia's voice coming out of this mare. Did everyone she knew have a counterpart in this world?

“Celina, how many times have I told you? You can call me by my first name!”

“Sorry, Spirit. It's already been one of those days. I swear I'm this close to ordering a box of doughnuts to munch on.” That got Spirit laughing a bit before he got serious.

“Yeah, I heard about that. Anything stolen?”

“No, thank God. But their target was the new crown for sure. I wonder why. Miss Shyra donated it to us after she said she found it, so I figure it was one of those really good fake pieces of jewelry, but now I'm not so sure. I'm having a jeweller come in to appraise it.”

“And what happens if it is a real piece of jewelry?” Spirit asked, worried about his current plan to help Twilight.

“I already announced it to be the new crown, and if I take it out now, people might think it was stolen. I'll just have extra security around it, and whoever wins it this year will get it.” Celina then looked at Twilight. “Oh goodness, I forgot my manners!” Extending a claw, Celina leaned towards her. “I'm Celina Sunray, mayor of Canter City. And you are?”

“Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight shook her claw. Celina smiled an unnervingly familiar smile.

“What a beautiful name.” Celina then looked back at Spirit. “Now did you need something, Spirit?”

“Yes. I'm using my privilege as a sponsor for the contest to bring in my own entry.” He gestured to Twilight next to him.

“Of course it's within your rights. Well, Miss Sparkle, head to the convention hall. Miss Parasprite is in charge of the decorations and the running of the contest. Go to her and tell her you’re in.”

“Thanks, Celina. See you later.” Spirit led Twilight out and they went to the car. They headed in the direction of the Convention Center.

They were halfway there when the car talked.

“Sir, the Board needs to meet with you right away. Q level alert.” Twilight saw her friend mutter something as a frown came on his lips. He eventually sighed and responded.

“Alright, let them know I'm on my way.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I'm sorry, Twilight, but duty calls. I'll drop you off at the Center. Call when you’re done, and if I'm not available, I'll have one of my people pick you up.”

“Actually, when I'm done there, I want to explore the city. See what I can do here.” She saw Spirit raise his eyebrows in amazement and nod.

“Good idea. Certainly would help your cause. When you’re done, call, and either me or one of my people will pick you up.” She nodded and they drove on until they reached the Convention Center.

The Center was a building made up of three large sections. There were more narrow areas that connected them, and the main sections had domed roofs. Spirit waved to her and her dog before taking off, only to stop a block or two away. He got out and looked at the dash board.

“KARR, go disguised and keep an eye on her.”

“Understood, sir.”

Spirit nodded and shut the door and walked away. The car without a driver tinted the windows so no one could see inside, and in a shimmer, the vehicle was now a red truck, but still had the distinctive yellow light that strobed side to side. It took off towards the Convention Center. Spirit smiled and walked into an alley, and soon afterward, there was a flash of light.

Twilight entered the Center and looked around. The room she was in was wide, but narrow, with several closed doors on the opposite side from the entrance. At the closest pair of doors was a sign promoting the Miss Canter City Contest. With a deep breath, she stepped through the doors to a room larger than the Canterlot ballroom. She saw tons of balloons and streamers around and several ponies...err, people…setting the balloons and streamers up. She turned to look, when suddenly, she saw big light blue eyes staring at her.

“ACK!” Twilight yelped and stepped back to the giggles of a female.

“You are SO funny,” the female said in a familiar voice. “Hi, I'm Polly Parasprite, heading the Miss Canter City Contest. So what can I do ya for?”

“Well, my name's Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to sign up for the contest.”

“Okie dokie lokie.”

The girl then quickly moved to a table nearby and Twilight actually got a good look at her. She seemed the same height as herself in this form. She had poofy, curly light brown hair and wore a lot of pink. The girl practically hopped back to Twilight with a clipboard.

“We haven't really gotten anyone else but Sunset Shimmer to sign up.”

Polly went into a thinker's pose for a bit as Twilight signed the form. Not her best writing, but hey, she had always used her horn's magic before. When she was done, Polly got out of her pose.

“Come to think of it, you two have the weirdest names I ever heard! And trust me, as the city's premier Party Girl, I have heard them all. Still cool, but weird.”

Before Twilight could respond to that, the Polly looked over to where some doors opened.

“Ooooohhhh! Great, the juice is here. Excellent, Amber!”

“Well of course it's here! Dis here contest always brings in good money for mah family, Polly. And Sweet Apple Acres always delivers. We have a tradition of reliability to uphold. We didn’t become successful by puttin’ others in a hard spot.”

That voice and accent greatly disturbed Twilight. It sounded WAY too much like Applejack's. Looking in the direction of the voice, she saw a tall, fit mare with brownish skin with a light color, almost like foxes back home. Her dirty blond hair was tied like Applejack's was, and she even had freckles and green eyes. By Celestia, she even had a stetson hat! She was standing behind a dolly with cases of liquid drinks, from what Twilight could tell.

“Yupperoonie! Your family makes the best drinks and food stuff in the city, Amber. Between it and Sugarcube Corner, we've got this party stocked.”

“True dat. This will be one heck of a hoedown. I’m sorry, I forgot mah manners. Ah’m Amber Jane Appleson. And you are?”

Amber held out a claw, or “hand”, as Twilight had gathered. She grabbed it and shook it.

“I'm Twilight Sparkle.”

“Pleasure to meetcha, Twilight. You helping out Polly here?”

“Nope, she's signed up for the contest. Isn't that great?”

“That's mighty brave of ya, Twilight. Not many sign up anymore since that Sunset Shimmer gal always seems to get the crown. Be glad to see someone else get it for once. So good luck to ya'll.”

“Thank you, Amber. Well, I have to get going, and I guess I might see you all later.”

“Count on it,” Polly said. “I’ve got a 'Welcome to the city' party to throw you after the contest.” Twilight waved goodbye to them as soon as she and Spike left the building.

“That was...awkward,” Twilight said when they were alone.

“Tell me about it. Change their colors and put them in a pony body and bam! Pinkie Pie and Applejack.” Spike replied.

“Is this some cosmic joke that I'm running into versions of my friends here? I swear that Celestia would laugh her mane off if she knew. Come on, we've got a city to explore.” They headed into the city while a car slowly followed them.

An hour later at the Convention Center, Amber was just finishing up the last load of non perishable goods for the celebration party after the crowning, when they heard a familiar voice.

“What is this!?” Both girls saw the reigning Miss Canter City coming in. “This is an adult contest, for the crowning of me again! Not an eight-year old’s birthday party. Show the city's people some respect. I really wonder why Celina hired you for this year's contest.”

“And why are you sure that we'll be crowning you this year?” Amber asked. Sunset turned to the girl and smirked at her.

“Because no one in their right mind other than me enters anymore. My victory is assured.” Mentally, Sunset added, 'And after that, everything will change here.'

“I wouldn't count on that.”

“Yupperoonie! A new girl entered the contest earlier today. A girl named Twilight Sparkle.” That name caused Sunset’s smile to die.

“Well, she will lose like all the others. Now, less balloons and more streamers,” she said as she left the two.

'So the new princess followed me here in a pathetic attempt to get her crown back,’ Sunset thought. ‘Brave, Twilight, but you don't know this world, and I’ve spent years here. You will fail, and the Element of Magic will be mine.'