Twilight Sparkle was excited. No, Twilight Sparkle was positively thrilled! For the time has come to put the results of the last three months of a hard work to a test!

She stood in one of her castle's chambers, the one she decided to turn into a brand new lab. Thankfully most of her precious equipment that was stored in the basement laboratory survived the explosion of the Golden Oak Library, so it didn't took to many effort and expenses.

Before her stood a tall mirror hooked up to the machine, she once used to open the portal to the human world. Though the mirror was different, it was plain rectangle with no frame, nothing like the elegant Magic Mirror created by Star Swirl The Bearded but it would suffice, after all this was just a prototype. Besides, the mirror itself, despite its unoriginal look, was a piece of a magical art. The sheer number of intricate enchantments waved into its glass was astonishing.

Yes, she was going to create a new portal. The portal that leads to a new world! Ever since she had gone through the Magic Mirror the concept of the multiverses became her newest obsession. Thanks to that obsession she was able to construct the machine on such a short notice, when Sunset asked for her help with the Sirens. And now it took only some minor tweaks to repurpose the device.

She cleared her throat. "Spike, take the parchment."

"Can do," The baby dragon saluted, hopped to the nearby table with a big book and stack of parchment on it and grabbed the quill. "Ok, ready when you are."

"Excellent!" Twilight levitated a big tome and some writing essentials from the table to herself and began to write. "Project "Mirror" research log number one-three-eight-dash-one. The prototype is finally ready. I was able to repurpose the machine I used to power the original mirror into, what I call, a Portal Control Terminal. All information on the additions and upgrades to the machine can be found in the attached documents."

"Today I am going to activate the Terminal and attempt to open a stable connection with another universe. As always Spike will observe the experiment and provide a written transcription," At this she waved to her number one assistant.

He smiled and waved back.

"Alright, I'm activating the Terminal," Twilight pulled one of the levers on a control panel, and the machine began to hum.

"Beginning data input," She began to tap on a keyboard with her hooves. "I'm using the coordinates that were calculated with the help of my friend and a colleague Sunset Shimmer and my personal student Starlight Glimmer. According to our calculations, the world on the other side will be very similar to ours, with only some minor differences in a probability that wouldn't be relevant on the grand scale. That's done in order of safety, we don't want to open the portal and find Tirek or hostile environment on the other side."

"In case of emergency I've added a self-destruction enchantment to the mirror that can be activated remotely by Spike via the enchanted rune I gave him."

Spike stopped writing for a moment and glanced at the runestone that was hanging on his neck as a medallion. He really hoped that he wouldn't have to use it.

Twilight had finished putting in the coordinates and was adjusting the settings with some handles and tumblers on the control panel. "If everything will go according to plan the portal would lead to the exact same chamber, and hopefully it will be unused, just like this one was only a week ago. I really don't want to go through the portal and walk face first into something. In any case I would be able to visit the other world for a brief time and, hopefully, establish contact with my counterpart."

Twilight smiled to herself, imagining the look on the other Twilight's face when they will meet. And hopefully this won't be like the time traveling spell all over again, neither of us need that. She thought.

"Alright, the moment of truth," She took a deep breath and pulled the last lever.

The machine started to hum louder, a few electric arks started to dance between the coils on its top. The surface of the mirror began to ripple and shimmer.

"It's working! Spike! It's working!"

Twilight couldn't wait to see the world on the other side. She quickly cast a shield spell around herself and moved closer to better see the mirror.

It's surface already begun to glow bright white and the ripples have turned into the waves. The humming began to get quieter, which could only mean that the hardest part of a spell was finished and the Terminal began process of stabilizing the connection.

Any moment now, Twilight thought looking eagerly at the portal. She levitated her journal closer to herself, ready to write about the success of the experimental launch.

But something was not right. The mirror continued to glow brighter and brighter.

Twilight took a step back. "Spike, I think something..."

She wasn't able to finish the sentence.

Suddenly the surface of the mirror exploded with light, forcing Twilight to jump backwards and use her wings to shield her eyes. The coils on top of the machine began to spit electric bolts all over the room. All monitors on the control panel started to glow before exploding in a shower of glass.

"Spike! Turn it off!" Twilight shouted.

The baby dragon didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the runestone and inhaled ready to activate the self-destruction enchantment with his dragon fire. But before he could release his breath, the arcane-electric bolt from one of the coils hit the table he was sitting at and send him flying across the room.

"By Celestia, Spike!" Twilight screamed. She wanted to run towards her assistant and make sure that he would be alright, to protect him and activate the self-destruction rune. But what she saw at the corner of her eye stopped her dead in her tracks.

The tendrils of arcane energy started to shoot out of the mirror like whips, leaving the scorched marks everywhere they touched.

And some of them were heading right towards her.

The first one collided with her shield before she could even react. Normally her shields were able to sustain a substantial amount of damage even before she became an alicorn, now they were practically impenetrable by any normal unicorn magic. But this was not normal magic.

Raw arcane energy that collided with her shield vanished almost immediately but, it managed to disrupt the spell on its base level. The shield cracked. The second tendril collided a moment later completely destroying Twilight's protection spell.

This all happened so fast, she didn't even have time to move. The third tendril flew right above her head, singeing her mane. With a frightened squick Twilight fell to the floor and looked at the mirror, only to see more arcane whips flying towards her, leaving the scorched marks on the floor. The moment purple alicorn saw them, she knew that she wouldn't be able to move out of their way in time.

With nothing else to use as a protection Twilight grabbed the journal, that fell from her magical grasp a moment ago and shoved it between her face and the upcoming danger.

When magic collided with the book, the time seemed to slow down. Twilight looked with horror how her makeshift shield was engulfed in flames, how its cover started to glow bright and how it started to disintegrate sending the burning pain in her front hooves.

The Princess instinctively closed her eyes and waited for pain to come...

And waited...

And waited...

By Celestia, I know that this suppose to feel like in a slow motion and all, but this is ridiculous! She thought.

Cautiously Twilight opened one eye and was greeted with a singed cover of her old journal. She just stared at it for a moment. She was sure that the old book was destroyed by magic, she even felt it disappearing from her grasp.

Twilight carefully lifted her head and looked.

The room was dark and quiet, only lit by the occasional sparks flying out of the broken machine. The magic was gone, they were safe, they were...

"Oh Celestia, Spike!" She shouted and jumped back on her hooves. In one big leap Twilight got to the corner where Spike has been thrown by the electric charge, casted the elimination spell and started to dig through the pile of broken wooden planks that ones was a cabinet. "Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay..."

"Urgh..." A clawed hand slowly moved one of the planks aside and the panicked princess saw the small, slightly singed, dragon. "I'm alright, Twilight." He raised his other hand above his head, the cracked runestone in it. "Everything is under control!"

"Oh Spike!" Twilight grabbed her assistant and hugged him. "You saved me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" If not for him, her face would've been melted by the uncontrollable magic energy, and that is just one of best possible outcomes. "Oh, what would I do without you?"

"Keep hugging like this and you'll have to find out..." The little dragon wheezed. "I can't breathe."

"Sorry." She released him and smiled apologetically. "I keep forgetting about this whole earth pony strength. Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, thick scales, remember?" Spike took one more deep breath and looked around the room. "So... What happened?"

Twilight looked over the wrecked room once more. What did happen?

Everything was perfectly calculated, the machine was fully functional, the theory was solid.

And yet, it exploded in her face.

"I don't know Spike. But we can worry about it later. Let's just get out of here." She levitated her assistant onto her back and headed to the door. "How about we go and grab something to eat at the Sugarcube Corner?"

However, before Spike could voice his approval, the door flew off its hinges.

Twilight gasped as something big flew into the room.

"Don't worry everypony!" the familiar, yet rather unwelcomed voice announced. "Discord is here to save the day!"

"Discord! What are you doing here?" Twilight asked and then squinted at him. "You don't happen to be responsible for that little light show, do you?"

The draconequus was making some significant progress with his reformation, however there were some regressions and occasional slips, some more severe then the others.

"Moi?" Discord put his paw on his chest and managed to look rather offended. "Twilight, my dear, the resonance cascade is not a joke! Not even for yours truly!"

"The what?"

"I was minding my own business, creating chaos, choosing gifts for Fluttershy, putting laxatives into Tia's cake, all at once mind you, when I felt the disturbance in the force and rushed to your aid-" Discord started to pace around the room "- only to find the crisis averted, the nerve, and accusations been thrown my way!" he stopped and pointed an accusatorial finger at Twilight. "Well, next time you and that assistant of yours will bring about the world's end don't count on my help! Ta-ta!"

And with that he disappeared leaving behind very confused alicorn princess.

"I'm... sorry?" was all she managed to say after the few moments of silence.

"You are forgiven!" the cheerful voice from behind caused Twilight to jump once again and turn around to find the Lord of Chaos floating there. "But seriously, next time at least wear the proper protection gear."

And with another snap of his fingers he disappeared once again.

"Whaf waf faf afouf?" sounded a muffled voice.

Twilight turned her head and saw Spike wearing some sort of a green body armor and a gray helmet that covered his face. After some fumbling he managed to pull it off.

"I said, what was that all about?" he repeated. "Nice suit by the way." He pointed at Twilight.

"Huh?" Twilight looked over herself, she was wearing a strange orange and black outfit that was made of what seemed to be a metal as well as some rubber-like material for the joints. The armor was surprisingly light and did not hinder her movement at all. Also a pair of simple rectangular glasses was perched neatly on her snout.

"Well, it does look like it can protect me, I'll give him that. I'll have to test it later." She took a few more moments to admire her new outfit before realizing something. "How do I take it off?"

It took some time and Spike's help to free Twilight from Discord's gift and, after putting it away, they continued with their original plan.

Despite the bad start the day turned out to be great. When Twilight and Spike arrived at Sugarcube Corner Pinkie Pie already had the complementary "Don't get worked up about the failed experiment" cupcakes ready, because of course she had, and they were simply magnificent. Some time later Rarity came in and, after some casual conversation, offered them to join her at the spa. When they returned home the sun already started to move below the horizon.

"I'm telling you Twilight, they are definitely using some kind of unknown earth pony magic." Spike stretched, while riding on Twilight's back. "You definitely should hire them for our royal spa."

Twilight giggled at that. Yes, the spa sisters were as eager as always to give their princess a royal treatment and as always their hooves were simple divine... Maybe Spike was on to something there.

"We don't have a royal spa, and no, I'm not going to hire anypony."

"Ehh, it was worth a shot." Spike stretched one more time and yawned. "Don't know about you but I am getting sleepy. I'll go hit the hay earlier today."

The Dragon hopped off her back and headed towards the bedroom.

"Are you coming?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "Yes, I'll just go to the lab quickly and get a few things for tomorrows review of the experiment."

That got Spike to stop in his tracks and turn around to face her.

"Okay, I know where this is going," He squinted and pointed an accusatory claw at Twilight. "You are going to get all worked up again as soon as you enter the lab and will spend the whole night trying to figure things out, aren't you?"

"What? No!" Twilight answered with a nervous chuckle. "Of course not. I'll just grab our notes and be right back. Honest."

Spike kept his stare for a bit longer but then he just sighed and shook his head. "Okay, but don't take long."

"Don't worry. And good night Spike."

"Good night Twilight."

The lab was dark.

Twilight tried the switch once more but no light came. Apparently the magical surge completely destroyed the power lines in the room.

"Good thing I isolated it from the rest of my castle," Twilight murmured as she entered the room with her illumination spell on.

She made her way towards the table Spike was sitting at during the experiment to see if any of his notes can still be salvaged, only to see a scorched pile of wood and burned pieces of paper scattered around it.

"That lightning did a number on it..." Twilight bit her lower lip and looked back at the rubble that once was a cabinet. The memory of lightning bolt hitting the table and sending Spike flying made her shiver. "Oh Spike, if anything ever happens to you I will never forgive myself. I must be more careful next time."

She shook her head and walked away from the wreckage.

With all transcripts destroyed she lost the benefit of the side observation, however her own notes should be enough to review the experiment and find out what she did wrong. With that thought Twilight made her way to the center of the room where her journal still laid on the floor.

She levitated the book towards herself. Even in the purple glow of her magic she could see the burned marks all over its cover and some of the pages. A pang of guilt shot through Twilight's heart. That book was with her for so long. It served as her diary, a research journal and it contained a copy of every single letter she and her friends wrote to Princess Celestia. It has even survived the destruction of the Golden Oak Library. She could probably think of it as another loyal friend. Especially after she used it as a makeshift shield.

"At least you're still in one piece," Twilight said tucking the book under her wing. "Come on, lets go before Spike decides to drag me out of here by the tail."

"I probably would have to drag her out of there by the tail, again." Spike sighed to himself and looked at the clock. "Five more minutes and I'll..."

He was cut off when with a bright flash of light the purple alicorn appeared in the middle of a room.

"Huh. I didn't expect that."

"I told you that it would take just a few minutes." Twilight smirked.

"Good, now I can sleep in peace. Good night Twi!" He dove into his basket and was out even before Twilight could reply.

"How does he do that?" Twilight shook her head.

She levitated the book onto a nightstand near her bed and went to the bathroom to get ready for the sleep. After all tomorrow would be a long day of reviewing all spells and enchantments, and she'd need a clear head for it.

"No, seriously, how does he do that?" Twilight thought to herself once again.

She was laying in bed for an hour already and couldn't fall asleep. The thoughts on the experiment were buzzing in her head. Could it be that she was wrong about the sigils they used to enchant the mirror? Or the coordinates were wrong? It was a possibility, after all it is quite hard to work with so many additional dimensions. But no, she quadruple checked everything. Maybe it all boiled down to a simple input error?

With a grunt of frustration Twilight put hooves on the sides of her head. She would never fall asleep at this rate.Twilight set in her bed and grabbed the journal from the nightstand, if she couldn't sleep, she might as well check some things out. With this thought Twilight opened the last page of the journal.

...

"Huh?" Twilight stared at the page for a moment, then she closed her eyes and shook her head. But when she opened them and looked at the page again, nothing changed. She was still staring at an incomprehensible jumbled mess of letters and symbols instead of her own writings.

Twilight started to turn pages, one after the other, but all of them contained the same jiberrish as the last one.

"What kind of magic could have done this?" She questioned out loud. "All of my research, all our letters, everything is gone..." She continued to look through the mess on the page, however the more she looked the more familiar it seemed. She just couldn't put her hoof onto it.

Twilight turned some more pages when suddenly she saw a pice of paper with the normal words on it. One glance was enough for her to recognize it. It was Applejack's letter to Celestia. The one about the importance of being honest to yourself not just the others. Aj accidentally spilled some ink on it and decided to write another one. The ink blot was not big and the letter remained perfectly readable, so Twilight decided to attach it to her journal instead of copying it. And now it was the only readable thing in the whole book.

The proverbial gears in Twilight's head started to spin.

"The letters was in the book when it was hit by the magic, and yet it is intact. That means that this mess was the result of something other than wild magic," Twilight muttered. "That magic could not possibly target only my book nor my hornwrighting for it was anything but sophisticated, on the contrary it was incredibly disruptive. In other words..."

And that's when it hit her. Twilight looked at the writings as if she saw them for the first time. There were patterns, and the more she looked at them the more familiar they became.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Twilight whispered in disbelief. "Is that really my encryption!?"

Now that she realized what it was, she could clearly see it. Her whole journal was encrypted when the wild magic disrupted the enchantment she made.

"But... Didn't I dispel it?"- Twilight whispered, rubbing her chin - "I was sure I did."

Twilight tried hard to remember the last time she made any alterations to the enchantments on the journal. That day she checked its fireproof enchantment, waterproof enchantment, renovated its oxidation resistance and added a new enchantment to make sure the pages wouldn't stick to each other. However she couldn't remember anything regarding the encryptions.

"Huh, I guess I completely forgot about it," Twilight scratched the back of her head. "Hey, that means that everything is still here!"

She grabbed the journal and smiled at it.

"I simply need to decipher everything," her ears fell a little. "I just hope that the enchantment is still working..."

Twilight laid her trusted journal back on the bed and ignited her horn, ready to cast the key sequence spell, that should've activated the deciphering process. A few moments later she opened it on the first page, hoping to see how this jumbled mess transforms into normal words which then slide into their rightful places.

However the text remained motionless with the only one readable word "Hello" written in the upper left corner of the first page.

She tried to cast it again, only to see how the word "dear" gathered itself and slid next to "Hello".

Twilight tried it on more time, making sure that she cast the spell correctly, and was rewarded with a phrase "Hello dear Diary".

"Oh, great..." Twilight facehoofed.

So, here it is. My first story in the seven years I've been here.
Please comment and tell me what you think, also please point out any spelling or grammar errors, English is not my native language.
A huge thanks to Marcbot2004 for his proofreading of this character.

"That pony sure does love books!" That's what everypony familiar with Twilight Sparkle would tell you. And that's true. Twilight Sparkle loves books and she loves to read them even more.

Reading always was an important part of her life. It was what made her into a pony she was. It allowed her to learn magic, it helped her to save Equestria multiple times, it even showed her how to throw some great slumber parties.

It was normal for Twilight to go through the huge tomes, that would normally take others several days to read, in just one night.

So, yes. Twilight Sparkle always loved reading.

So how ironic it was, that her most beloved activity has turned into an excruciating torment?

The deciphering spell took at least one second to cast, and under the normal circumstances that would not be a problem, however since the cipher enchantment was damaged in such a way that made an automatic deciphering impossible, Twilight had to cast her spell for Every... Single... Word...

And that effectively dropped her reading speed to about sixty words per minute!

This is ridiculous, Twilight thought. I'm sure that I could read faster than that even when I was just learning how to read! At this pace it's going to take weeks to undo everything!

She sighed and deciphered yet another word.

However, despite the terrible inconvenience of this whole situation, there actually was something positive about the process. Diaries and journals exist to store the memories of their owners and to allow them to relive some of their most important days. But Twilight was mostly interested in her notes on the experiments she run, or the letters she sent to the princess, so she could not, for the life of her, remember the last time she simply set down an actually read through the events surrounding those experiments and letters. But now Twilight was practically diving into her own past, all be it one word at the time.

And so, despite her frustration, the smile slowly crept onto her face.

Slowly, word-by-word, Twilight got to the point where Moondancer invented her to her birthday party. The way she wrote about the event made Twilight's ears droop. I can hardly believe that I used to be like this, she thought. I only mentioned Moondancer's party as some annoyance that would distract me from the "important stuff". Twilight sighed and shook her head, feeling ashamed of her past self.

But then she realized something, that made her perk up again. Wait, that happened two days before The Summer Sun Celebration! Twilight eyes sparked with anticipation as she continued to decipher and read, ready to relive the night that changed her life.

I could not believe it! How could Princess Celestia dismiss my warnings so nonchalantly? We are talking about the biggest crisis Equestria has faced in centuries! And she sends me to some backwater village to "make some friends"!?

I sighed and hanged my head over the chariot's edge. I didn't know what the Princess was thinking, doesn't she trust me? Did I somehow failed her recently? I hoped not. At least I didn't think so...

Plus Spike, who was rereading Princess's letter out loud for the fourth time, did not exactly boost my confidence.

"Look on the bright side, Twilight," he continued, trying to cheer me up. "The Princess arranged for you to stay at the library! Doesn't that makes you happy?"

Maybe Princess Celestia was right and I really was overreacting? After all, when was the last time some ancient dark prophecy came to pass?

No! If there was at least a fracture of chance that the prophecy was true, it was my duty to prevent the disaster! Or at very least to prepare for it. So my stay at the library was indeed a fortunate opportunity to do so!

"Yes, yes it does," I turned to face Spike. "And you know why? Because I'm right! I'll check up on the preparations as best as I can, then I'll get to the library to find the proof of Nightmare Moon's return!"

Spike gave me one of his disapproving looks, apparently all of my reasoning flew right over his head.

"Then when will you make friends, like princess said?" He asked.

Ugh, not that again! Princess made one little remark about my social life at the end of her letter, and Spike decided that this is, apparently, our main objective for today. However, I guess it's not fair of me to be so annoyed at him. After all he is still a baby dragon, it is quite logical that he would be more interested in this friend-making nonsense, rather than the official royal business or ancient history.
"She said to check on the preparations," I reminded him. "I am her student and I'll do my royal duty." As I was talking, our chariot started to descend faster as we were nearing the town square. That was good, the sooner we start the more time I'll have later.
"But the fate of Equestria does not depend on me making friends!" I concluded, hopping out of the chariot.

~But the fate of Equestria does not depend on me making friends!~

Twilight smiled and closed her eyes. "Oh, silly little pony, if only you knew how wrong you were," she quietly whispered to herself.

I thanked the royal guards who brought as here, I might be a bit irritated but that is no excuse for being impolite.

"Maybe ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about?" Spike continued to push on as he followed me. He turned around looking for somepony and, as if right on cue, a bright pink mare came to us and... just stood there? She was smiling and all but that was somewhat creepy, I mean, I wasn't even sure if she was looking at me, or past me, or right through me. Spike however was completely unperturbed by the mare's strange behavior and gestured at her. "Come on Twilight, just try!" He said, giving me a reassuring smile.

I looked back at the mare, and yup, she was still standing there, as if waiting for something. I didn't want to start up the conversation, let alone to befriend this strange pony, but that silence was beginning to unnerve me.

"Um... Hello?" I started.

The mare's eyes shifted a little, truly focusing on me for the first time, and a moment later she lipped up into the air with a loud gasp. Before I could even comprehend what just happened, she was gone, kicking up a cloud of dust.

...

"Well that was interesting all right..." I concluded and started to walk. Did I startled her? I sometimes get lost in thoughts myself but this was just ridiculous. How did she leap two meters into the air like that? I could have sworn that she was an earth pony, but to fly away like that would surely require a pair of wings.

"With that mission failed, what is next on the list?" I asked still confused Spike.

"Oh! Um," he looked at the letter again. "It's the food for the celebration. Ponies at the Sweet Apple Acres are in charge of it."

"I think I saw an apple orchard when we were flying," I said. "Come on, it's this way."

Thankfully our trip to the orchard was uneventful. We didn't run into any more crazy ponies, and more importantly Spike dropped his attempts to force me into befriending total strangers.

I've only spared the orchard a passing glance when we were up in the sky, and I must admit, it didn't give this place a justice it deserved. Rows upon rows of tall apple trees were stretching as far as eye could see and the fruits looked crisp and appetizing, fit for the royal table.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Spike said, looking around.

"The Apple Family is Equestria's largest supplier of apples and apple related products, it's logical that their fields will reflect that," I said, looking around myself. "I only hope that we won't spend the rest of the day looking for somepony who can give us the report. Let's go."

Turned out it was much easier than I expected. Almost immediately after we walked through the gate we heard a loud "Yeehaw" and an orange mare ran past us to the nearest apple tree. Just before reaching the tree she quickly stopped and turned, letting the momentum to carry her hind legs forward, and gave the tree a powerful buck. As the result all of the apples fell neatly into the baskets at the base of the tree.

Impressed, I briefly wondered if that move was calculated or achieved by the many trials and errors. Regardless the mare looked proud of her work.

At the corner of my eye I saw Spike looking at me, and when I turned to him I was greeted with the same encouraging smile he gave me not so long ago.

"Heh... Let's get this over with," I sighed, not wanting to get into another pointless argument.

Not wanting to startle this mare as well, I decided to put on my best smile and properly introduce myself.

"Good afternoon, my name is Twilight Sparkle." I started, but before I could say anything else my right forehoof was yanked from the ground and vigorously shaken.

"Whel howdy do miss Twilight, a pleasure making your acquaintance. Ah'm Applejack!" She said with a noticeable southern accent, all the while shaking my hoof as if trying to dislodge my whole leg from its joint. "We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!"

"F-f-f-friends? A-a-actually I-I-I..." I could not speak like that!

"So, what can Ah do you for?" Applejack asked, finally releasing my forehoof. Not that it changed anything. I still couldn't stop it!

Thankfully Spike grabbed onto my leg, finally stopping it. He barely managed to stifle a giggle.

I shot him an annoyed glare and, after getting back my composure, turned back to Applejack.

"Well, I am, in fact, here to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you are in charge of the food?"

"We sure as sugar are!" She answered proudly. "Would y'all care to..."

Before she could finish she was interrupted by the pare of coughs, that were clearly demanding our attention.

I looked past Applejack and saw a pony, wearing a strange clothing, walking from behind the big apple tree.

"Sorry for the interruption, but I was told to find someone named Applejack." She said. "I gather that's you?"

~I was about to gather her report regarding the food, when we were interrupted by the mare in the strange clothing.~

Twilight stared at the last sentence. Then she reread it again. And again.

I don't remember anything like this... She thought.

Then she closed the journal, opened it again and read the last deciphered sentence again. It was still the same.

And then, like a ton of bricks, it hit her.

She jumped up on all four and shouted.

"That is not my journal!"

Spike was waiting for the opportunity to tell Rarity about his fillings for such a long time that he was beginning to wonder if he will ever have guts to do something like that. But he could not just come up to her and blur things out. No! She is the most beautiful pony in the world and she deserved only the best. But Spike always was a resourceful and clever dragon, so of course he had a plan.

For months he was saving up bits to book a table at the most fabulous and prestigious restaurant in Canterlot. He had to pull some strings to invite Octavia and royal orchestra to preform on that special day. But the most difficult thing was to get Twilight to cast the mustache spell on him again and not being suspicious about it. The final part of his perfect plan was to send Rarity an anonymous letter from the Sicret Admirer inviting her on a date. And so he did.

Everything was just perfect.

When a chariot arrived and its door opened, Spike was left wondering how was it possible that he didn't lose his sight then and there, for he had his eyes on the Divine Beauty itself!

Rarity stepped out of the chariot and the dull bleak street of Canterlot was graced by her presence.

Her coat was sparkling white, her mane expertly curled, her spectacular dress, no doubt created by herself for this exact moment, was floating on a light breeze.

Rarity looked around and noticed Spike and, when their eyes met, he saw in them confusion that was swiftly replaced by happiness.

"M'lady," Spike bowed and extended his claw to her. "Would you do me the honor and accompany me to this lovely restaurant?"

"Oh Spike..." She took his claw, a small blush slowly spreading to her face. "When I got the letter I thought... I hoped..."

"Hush my dear, there is no need for words," He started to lead her towards the doors. "Come."

The music started to play immediately as they entered. The staff was already waiting for them by their table. When they approached Spike waved one of the waiters off as he attempted to move a chair for the beautiful mare in front of him, and did it on his own.

"This place is lovely," Said Rarity as she took a sit.

"The most beautiful mare in the world deserves only the best," Spike answered, taking his sit. "Please choose what ever you like. Today is Your day," He added.

She took the menu and looked through it with a small smile on her face.

"That is not my journal!" She shouted all of a sudden... In Twilight's voice no less...

Twilight stood on her bed and stared at the book. This must be it, She thought. There is simply no other explanation!

"Wha..?"

Twilight heard Spike's mumble. Oh, shoot! I must've woke him up. She envelope the journal in her magic and quickly teleported out of the room.

Spike opened his sleepy eyes and looked around the dark bedroom. Oh, just a dream... He thought. Maybe if I'll fall back asleep I'll still be able to enjoy it? Or I'll just bribe Luna later...

And with that Spike was out once again.

With a purple flash Twilight appeared in the middle of castle's library. Without a moment hesitation she levitated the journal to the nearest table and practically dove into one of the drawers.

"Okay, I need some parchment! Check! And some ink. Check! And a quill... Oh, come on! Where did I put all my quills?" Twilight shouted while frantically looking around. After a minute of fruitless search she finally noticed one quill lain on the table, right next to the journal. "Check." She sighed.

"Alright!" Twilight announced to the empty library, and started writing. "Unfortunately today's experiment failed, witch lead to the destruction of almost all relevant documentation regarding the portal. However I am certain that most of the information can be retrieved from the notes made by Sunset and Starlight, even if some crucial data is missing, it's going to be but a minor setback. For I have a proof that our calculations were correct! It seems that during the experiment my journal swapped places with its counterpart from the other side. Unfortunately it seems that my own counterpart used the same enchantments that I did, and it resulted in some complications. Regardless, I will use this opportunity to document any differences between our worlds I'll be able to find."

..."I gather that's you?"

I watched as a new pony approached us. She was an earth pony, or at least I assumed so. Her long bluish-grey coat with a faded golden outlines, that covered her flanks and hind legs, had no slits for the wings. Long sleeves covered her front legs almost to the hooves. Underneath the coat she was wearing some kind of jacket of the same color with several belts crossing her chest. I wasn't sure, but it looked like she was wearing pants as well. The whole getup looked rather archaic, as if she walked right off the pages of a history book.

Why in Celestia's name would anypony wear all this clothes on a warm summer day was beyond me. It must've been boiling hot under the sun!

I looked at her again expecting to see a sweat drenched pony, but was surprised to see no traces of discomfort upon her face. Her tan coat and short brown mane were completely dry.

As she got closer I saw four thin parallel scars on the left side of her face that crossed her eyebrow and cheek.

I also noticed that Applejack was looking at the newcomer with the same curiosity I was.

"Right you are, Sugar Cube," she answered. "And you are?"

But before the strange mare could introduce herself, Applejack exclaimed. "Oh! Ah know! You're that filly mah brother was talking about! Said Ah'll know you when Ah see you."

"Eeyup," she answered. For some reason that made Applejack chuckle. "To be honest I never thought that you can hire a merc and give them the instructions on what to do using only two words."

She was speaking with an accent, it wasn't as apparent as Applejack's southern one, but it was there. The way she was dragging on her "o" and "u" and rolling "r" was reminiscent of some of the foreigner diplomats I met at Princess's court. What's with this farm and the accents anyway?

"That's mah brother ta you, he doesn't like ta run his mouth," The farmer grinned. "So, what can Ah do you for?"

"Right, regarding your timberwolves problem..."

Now that got my attention!

"Excuse me?" I interrupted her and looked at Applejack. "You have timberwolves running around the place?!"

As if Nightmare Moon was not enough! We're also threatened by the carnivorous plants! I really didn't want to deal with this.

Applejack stiffened and quickly turned to looked at me. A little too quickly.

"Oh! Ehh, you see..." her eyes were darting from side to side, looking at anything but me. "He-he, there might be a little... infestation going on..." She muttered.

I simply facehoofed at that. If that's was the case, there is no way I could allow for Princess Celestia to visit this town! Not that the timberwolves could pose any threat to the alicorn, but still...

"Not anymore." The mare stated and reached into her saddlebag. She pulled out a cloth bundle and tossed it to the ground in front of us.

Applejack and I shared a look.

I carefully reached with my magic and tried to unwrap the bundle, when the cloth was removed we saw a hoof sized wooden... something. It was oval in shape with a roundish protrusion on the side, the streaks of green glow were visible on its surface.

And that thing stunk!

"By Celestia! What is that thing?" I shouted and threw the bundle back to the mare.

"Alpha's heart-root," She scrunched her nose as she reached to cover it with the cloth once again. As she did so I noticed a hilt of a sword sticking from behind her back. "Without it the timberwolf can't pull itself back together."

I simply stood there, looking at the strange mare and the bundle at her hooves. I've read about this, almost all elemental creatures have cores similar to that root, they act a central magical node and a power source. Also, if the body is damaged or destroyed, it will attempt to recreate the elemental using the available materials of the same nature.

And she brought it with her...

"And you brought it to the apple grove!?" I snapped.

That mad mare looked at me and... smirked?

"Not my first time dealing with the elementals," she said, reaching to the bundle. She turned it over and removed a piece of cloth, revealing a rusted nail that was sticking out that thing, a green vapor coming out from around it.

Apparently that damage was enough to render the core inert.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"With their alpha gone the pack will return back to its grove and hibernate until the new one grows up. So your little infestation is dealt with, for the time being, at least." She concluded.

I heard Applejack whistle. "Well Ah'll be. When Mac told me that he hired somepony ta help us out, Ah thought you would help Mah uncle to patrol the farm border or something. Ah didn't expect that you would go on the hunt!"

The mare shrugged. "It's easier that way."

Easier? To go and hunt down monsters? I had no idea how that could be easier for her, but that certainly made things easier for me.

"Alright, I see that the crisis is averted." I said. "Can we please get back to business? I am on a strict schedule."

"Hmm? Oh right, the food!" Applejack stood proudly once again. "Don't you worry none, Sugar Cube! We Apples pride ourselves on our cooking! Would y'all care to try some?"

"Well, as long as it doesn't take to long."
"Can't say no to the free food."

We said that in unison, but apparently Applejack didn't even intended to listen. She bolted to the nearby house and rang a triangle.

"Soups on everypony!" She shouted.

The ground shook. I looked back and saw a whole herd of ponies running towards us. That was a real stampede!

"Where did they come from!?" The mare shouted.

That might have been an interesting thing to ponder, but my mind was preoccupied with trying to find a way to escape. A shield spell? Telekinesis? Kinetic burst? Oh why didn't I practice my teleportation!?

Before I could think of something, the stampede rolled over us. Spike and I were lifted upon their backs and carried somewhere.

The world was still spinning when I found myself back on the ground in and by the table, Spike beside me, thankfully unharmed. With a grown the mare in the coat popped up from underneath the table.

"Ugh, that was unexpected..." she muttered, rubbing her flank.

"Heh, sorry bout that Sugar Cubes,"Applejack hugged us by the shoulders. "Here, let me introduce you to the family!"

What followed was a real avalanche of names, faces and food.

Seriously, how big is this family!? And are they expecting me to actually eat all of this? She even unceremoniously shoved an apple down my throat.

Applejack ended the introductions with an old mare, Granny Smith I think, and nudged me on the shoulder.

"Why, Ah'd say you're already a part of the family!"

Ok! Red flag! There is being friendly, and there's being too friendly. I need to get out of here before they'll try and actually Make me a part of the family or something!

I spat the apple out and laughed nervously. "He, he, I see that the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way!"

"Aren't you gonna stay for a brunch?" A little filly, Applebloom I think, asked. She looked as though she was about to cry. She was so cute, I almost changed my mind.

"Sorry," I said, trying to look as disappointed as I could. "But we have an awful lot to do."

A collective "Oww..." sounded from all around, and everypony hang their heads.

Oh, come on! Did I accidentally broke some sort of a tradition or social norm?

"Tsk , tsk, tsk, Miss. That's cold." Said the clothed mare. She was already munching on the slice of pie and had smirk on her face. No doubt she was having fun at my expense.

I looked at everypony once more, and, with a defeated sigh, muttered "Fine..."

Ponies around us erupted in the cheers

The food was good. Surprisingly so. Originally I was planning on taking just a quick bite and calling it quits, I even tried to thank everypony and leave, but after the first slice of pie came the second, then some apple fritters and juice. Then the second pie...

I knew that all of this tasty delights were going straight to my flanks, but in all honesty I didn't care one bit. I even wondered if that's how the Princess feels about her cake obsession.

After some time ponies started to break up into smaller groups and chat with each other, Applejack and her mercenary decided to discuss the payment, and the adorable little filly was nowhere to be seen. All in all the perfect time to make my escape.

So I grabbed Spike, who was still stuffing himself with various apple treats, and, despite his protests, levitated him away from the table.

Some ponies saw us going and tried to start up conversations, to which I politely declined, others simply waved us goodbye. Good, I didn't want to loose any more time.

So the moment we got sufficiently far from the table I bolted.

For the future reference - running with the full stomach is a very bad idea.

For the last five minutes I was fighting off the waves of nausea. And I think I was loosing the battle. Thankfully Spike saw the state I was in and decided to walk on his own.

"I had to much pie..."

I had to stop as I felt a new wave of nausea approaching and covered my mouth with the hooves. This one was bad, I wasn't sure if I could hold it. That's when I noticed a bucket was shoved in front of me. Without thinking I grabbed it and stuck my muzzle inside.

What followed was a few moments of a desperate struggle against my own body, but thankfully I managed to preserve both my pride and my brunch.

I felt better.

I took a long breath and mumbled, "Thanks Spike."

"Uhh, wasn't me Twi." Came the reply.

I looked up and saw the mercenary mare from the farm. She was giving my an amused look.

"Did I miss them also giving a free booze or something?" She smirked.

An annoyed glare was my only answer.

"Hey, are you okay Twilight?" Spike asked getting near me, to which I simply nodded. He took the bucket from me and gave it to the mare. She took it and, without looking, simply tossed it over the nearest fence.

"Uhh, it was empty, right?" She asked after a moment hesitation.

"Yes, yes it was," I answered. "But thank you anyway miss..." I stopped. "Huh, I guess we were never properly introduced to each other."

I stood up straight and cleared my throat. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is my assistant, Spike." I said and extended my hoof

"Hi!" He waved.

"Hey, kiddo," she answered him with a nod and bumped my hoof with her own. "Name's Tzana."

"That's a weird name." Spike stated.

"Spike!" I shot him a glare. "That's rude!" I scolded him, even though I thought the same.

Thankfully Tzana didn't seem to be offended.

"So I've been told," she shrugged. "So, you're some important pony from the capital, right? Some kind of inspector?"

"No, not really." I answered as we started to walk. "But Princess Celestia did send me here to supervise the preparations for the celebration."

"Sent by the Princess herself." Tzana whistled. "So you are Very important pony from the capital." She said, putting a big emphasis on the word "very".

"I'm not that important." I mumbled. Maybe if I was, Celestia would've actually listened to me. "I am just a student."

"Still impressive though. So, how are the preparations going?" She asked.

"We've only started the inspection. The food was first on the list, and I can definitely say that Apples are doing a good job at preparing it." I answered, holding a hoof to my still heavy stomach. "Oh, and thank you for your contribution miss Tzana."

"Just doing my part." She shrugged again. "And just Tzana is fine."

I nodded to her and turned to Spike. "What's next on the list?"

"It's the weather!" Spike announced after looking through the letter. "A pegasus named Rainbow Dash should be keeping the sky clear."

"Clear huh?" Tzana raised an eyebrow.

I looked at the sky. A lot of fluffy white clouds were slowly carried around by the wind, and no pegasus in sight to clear all that mess.

"Well, she is not doing a good job is she?" I stated me, admittedly obvious, conclusion.

"Watch out!" Tzana shouted suddenly and shoved me to the side. Not a moment later I saw something colorful collide with Tzana with a loud "Oomph", sending them both flying. Then my vision was covered with dirt as I myself hit the ground.

"Twilight, are you okay?" I felt Spike's claws on my side he as tried to help me to get up.

"Yes Spike, I'm fine." I answered as I stood up and dusted myself off. "What just happened?" I looked around and saw Tzana standing on top of a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail, who was currently lying in the middle of huge puddle. It seems that we have found our weather pony.

"He-he-he. Oops." The pegasus, presumably Rainbow Dash, said. "Excuse me? Hey could you, maybe, get off me?" She squirmed uncomfortably under the earth pony hooves.

Tzana, however, payed her no mind, as she looked at the right sleeve of her coat. It was torn near the shoulder, and I could see a glint of small metal rings underneath it. Was that a chain mail?

"Now look what you've done." She said that calmly, however something in her voice made me feel uneasy. Apparently the pegasus felt the same way as she doubled her efforts to get free.

"Hey, I said that I'm sorry, okay?" She sounded irritated. "I didn't mean to crash into you or your friend out there." She pointed her hoof at me. "I was practicing one of my cool stunts when you two showed up."

"Well you managed to pull quite a stunt out there." The pegasus smiled when she heard that, however that smile was short lived, as Tzana lowered her head and looked her in the eye. "You messed up my stuff."

That was when I decided to intervene. I didn't want anypony to get hurt, especially the weather pony designated by the Princess herself.

"You are Rainbow Dash I suppose?" I said loudly as I moved to stand next to them. Tzana spared me a glance and, with a sigh, released hers would be victim. Angry or not she must've understood that it never a good idea to get in a way of the Crown. As for myself, I silently thanked Celestia, that she turned out to be a reasonable mare. I didn't want to see what a pony capable of taking on a timberwolf pack could do to the poor pegasus.

Said pegasus didn't waste any time lying on the ground. The moment Tzana moved her hooves she bolted into the air with a powerful flap of her wings. She made a small loop and landed on all four in front of me, wearing a smug look on her face.

"The one and only!" She announced as she started to hover right in front of my face. "Why? You heard of me?"

Well that one certainly had an ego.

"I heard suppose to be keeping the sky clear." Rainbow's expression fell almost instantly and she started to drift upward. When she reached the nearest cloud she just... lay on it. As if she didn't have any bother in the world.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. This town and its inhabitants didn't want to go easy me, did they? First overly friendly farmers, now this lazy weather manager. Well, maybe a reminder that this task was given by the Princess could motivate her?

"I am Twilight Sparkle and the Princess sent me to check on the weather." I said, hoping to get a reaction. I certainly didn't expect that she would wave me off, because that's exactly what she did.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She said dismissively. "I'll do that in a jiffy. As soon as I'm done practicing."

"Practicing what?" Tzana asked. "Bomb-diving into unsuspecting ponies? Cause it seems like you got that covered."

That ruffled her feathers.

"No!" She got up and pointed at a big poster that was glued to a wall of the nearby building. "The Wonderbolts! They are going to preform at the celebration tomorrow and I am going to show them my stuff!" She announced proudly and did a double loop in the air.

Well, it seemed that her ego was even bigger than I thought. And that was a good thing.

I felt how a mischievous smile appeared on my face as I came up with a simple plan.

"The Wonderbolts?" I asked. "The most talented fliers in all of Equestria?"

"That's them!" Rainbow answered proudly.

"Pff, please! They would never expect a pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for a one mizzly day!" I said as dismissively as I could. If my assessment was correct, Rainbow would never let that kind of hit to her pride slide.

"Hey!" She shouted. "I could clear that sky in ten seconds flat!"

Gotcha!

I heard Tzana snicker beside me.

"Wanna bet?" She asked. "If you can't clear all of this -" she waved her hoof around "- in ten seconds, you'll pay for my armor fixing... tenfold."

That didn't sound particularly fair to me. I admit, I just used her own ego to try and trick her into doing her job, but Tzana was baiting Rainbow into unwinnable bet. Surely she was not that gullible.

Rainbow glided down to the ground and stood almost snout to snout with Tzana.

"Oh yeah? And what if I win?" She challenged.

Then again, I've been wrong before.

"Then you are free to go." Tzana shrugged.

"In that case, I hope that you like some extra ventilation in that coat of yours." Rainbow Dash raised her head proudly as she took a few steps away from us. "Because I am the fastest flier in all of Equestria!" She looked at us triumphantly.

Rainbow walked right into Tzana's trap and did so willingly. Besides she did ruin Tzana's coat. And to be absolutely honest a small lesson in humility won't hurt her either.

So I had no second thoughts when I looked her straight in the eye and simply said "Prove it."

Rainbow Dash bolted into the air with such speed I felt a tug on my mane. When the dust cloud she kicked up settled and I could see her flying from one cloud to the next, destroying them effortlessly, my jaw literally hit floor.

The speed was incredible! I could barely follow her movement and mostly had to just track the rainbow colored blur that was left in her way. She zoomed through the sky so fast, she didn't even need to touch the cloud, the wind she created simply tore them apart, causing them to dissolve. I could have sworn that Rainbow could break the sound barrier with just a few more flaps of her wings!

The sky was clear in no time.

With her job done, Rainbow Dash flew back, did yet another loop in the air and landed on the bridge in front of us.

"What did I tell you?" She asked, beaming with pride. "Ten. Seconds. Flat."

We just stared.

Tzana was the first one to regain her composure.

"You're pretty good." She said.

"Pretty good..." Rainbow repeated, as if contemplating something. "Ha! That's not how you say awesome!"

She flapped her wings once again and started to fly around us.

"You guys are pretty cool." She said with a giggle. "Can't wait to hang out some more. See you later!"

And she was off.

"She is amazing!" Spike shouted.

Yes, there was no denying that. And her claims of being the fastest flyer might as well be true.

"Yeah, she's something." Tzana agreed.

"Were you going to start a fight with her?" Spike asked crossing his arms. He never liked it when the ponies fought over small things, Shining Armor taught him that.

"Nah, I'm not that petty, kiddo." The mercenary waved him off. "That sort of thing-" she poked the ripped sleeve "- happens all the time. I simply wanted to make her to deal with it for me, and make some extra bits." She let out a sigh. "Greed will be my undoing after all. Any way, I gotta get that fixed. See you around."

She turned around and started to walk in the direction of the town market.

"Goodbye." I said after her, and turned back to Spike. "What's next on the list?"

"The decorations." He said after checking the letter. "The celebration will be held at the Town Hall, so we should check it out."

I nodded and started to walk. This day was filled with the distractions so far, and I really hoped that there won't be any more problems with the preparations. I still haven't had a chance to read up on the Elements Of Harmony or Nightmare Moon. The sooner we finish the better.

"There you are, Twilight!"

Twilight flinched and looked around, blinking owlishly.

"Huh? Why is it so bright all of the sudden?" She thought out loud.

The library was lit by the warm morning sun light coming in through the windows.

"That's because you did exactly what I thought you would!" Came the reply.

Twilight turned around and saw Spike standing in a doorway. He had his arms crossed and was giving her a disapproving glare.

"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" He asked.

"No, I didn't." Twilight admitted.

There was no point denying it, even if she would try to convince him otherwise, her disheveled looks and bloodshot eyes were a dead giveaway.

"I couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to check something. And you know what? It worked! Not exactly how we intended, but it worked!" Twilight grabbed the journal and practically shoved it in Spike's face. "See? We were right in our calculations! They swapped!"

"Twi, you don't make any sense." He moved the book aside and walked closer to Twilight. There was no point in trying to understand her when she entered the 'Mad Scientist' mode, but thankfully Spike knew what to do in almost any situation regarding Twilight's slightly less than stable psyche "Listen, I know that this is very important to you, but if you won't have some rest, you'll be a shambling mess again." He talked calmly, letting it to sink in, all the while preparing his trump card. "And how would you work on your project in such a state?"

Spike watch with satisfaction as a comprehension dawned on Twilight's face. Even if she wanted to protest before, she would never do it now. Playing on the efficiency of her studies never failed him.

Twilight nodded.

"Yes, Spike. Of course you're right. I'll go-" she yawned, only now realizing how exhausted she really was "-I'll go to sleep. Clear head and all that." She smiled at him. "Thank you for looking after me."

"That's what I'm here for." The dragon answered proudly. "I'll wake you up in a few hours."

This time Twilight fell into Luna's realm even before her own head hit the pillow.

Well, I finally found some inspiration to write this.
This time I have no proofreader, so I probably butchered at least some English rules regarding tenses and articles...
So fill free to point out my mistakes.