//------------------------------// // Prologue: Now, It's Your Turn! // Story: Reverse Equestria Girls // by Commander_PonyShep //------------------------------// In the first floor of Twilight Sparkle's library, the new princess's five friends were bewildered by Twilight as she paced back and forth between her library books and the convoluted math equations on her chalkboard. They were invited here by their beloved friend and leader, but were not told exactly why yet. Already, Rainbow Dash and Applejack grew impatient, because they were being kept from their jobs managing the weather and farming for apples, respectively. As a result, the two of them felt that the meeting was almost wasting their time. Fluttershy and Rarity, meanwhile, were more patient and willing to hear out what their friend and leader had to say. As for Pinkie Pie, she uncontrollably shook and grinned in excitement over Twilight's little surprise; and as usual, she loved surprises. "Okay, so let's..." Princess Twilight investigated her books while speaking some technobabble. "Um, hello your Majesty!" Rainbow Dash called out to the adorkable princess, who was still ignoring her. "We've been standing here for probably half an hour by now. So surely, you'd want to tell us about the big surprise!" "Aw, come on, Rainbow!" Pinkie cheered. "If Twilight told us her surprise right now, then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore!" "Easy for you to say," Applejack responded to the pink party pony. "Ah'm supposed to buck over fifty apple-trees by six in the evening, otherwise Granny Smith would launch my sorry flank all the way to Luna's moon." "A ha!" Called out Twilight, after finishing her unknown research. "About time!" Rainbow Dash sighed. "So, what did you learn from your research?" Rarity asked as Twilight walked to her friends. "I'll get to it, soon." Twilight responded. "But for now..." She pointed her friends to what appeared to be a small piece of cloth on a table, covering some sort of spherical object. With her horn, she telekinetically removed the cloth and revealed what appeared to be a crystal ball. "Wait," Fluttershy said to Twilight, "I've never seen you own a crystal ball before." "That's because I've recently purchased it at a local magic-item store," responded the librarian princess. "And trust me, it won't be like that crystal ball Pinkie once used during her brief stint as a fortune teller. "How?" All five of the girls asked Twilight. Twilight faced her crystal ball but thought to herself, "Now, how did the formula go, again?" After giving herself some time to think, she then used the power of her magical horn to summon an image from the crystal ball... one that appeared to resemble the entrance of the same modernized high-school Twilight herself used to enter, populated by those strange bipedal creatures who could hold objects with fingers and opposable thumbs. As Twilight's friends grew befuddled, Applejack interjected, "Wait a gosh dern minute 'ere. Ain't that the 'igh-school you told us about? The one you entered and met up with those five hairless apes who resembled us?" "Of course," Twilight answered. "However, this is not the same Canterlot High I've entered. Rather, it's another Canterlot High I've spent extensive research on finding." "So let me get this straight," Rainbow said. "All of that nerdy research you've done was all on interdimensional travel?" Twilight nodded yes. "And," Pinkie said, "you bought that crystal ball to be able to find alternate dimensions like the one you're showing us?" The librarian princess nodded yes again. "If that is the case," Rarity continued, "then how can the Canterlot High not be the same one you have entered?" With her magic, Twilight switched the crystal ball's image from Canterlot High's entrance to another of one of its hallways, featuring what appeared to be a second Twilight Sparkle scrambling through her locker. Compared to the pony Twilight, this version Twilight actually wore clothes, from lavender leg-warmers, to a light-blue dress with a tie around its neck and a purple skirt with the pony version's cutie-mark. She was also wearing her bag, and in it secretly contained a dog who resembled Twilight's baby dragon assistant, Spike. "Is that what you looked like when you entered the mirror?" Fluttershy asked, as she and the others looked upon the image on the crystal ball. "And let's not forget about the dog who resembles Spike," Applejack said. "You know, the one in 'er bag." "To answer both questions," Twilight responded, "yes. Both the girl and her dog are me and Spike, respectively. The Canterlot High I explored did not have an alternate version of me or Spike anywhere. So, I've done extensive research on which other Canterlot High had alternate versions of the both of us, if not alternate versions of you. This Canterlot High, and the Twilight and Spike you're seeing right now, are all results of my research on interdimensional travel." "The Canterlot High you explored also did not have its own alternate version of Sunset Shimmer," Rarity said. "Does that mean that..." "Unfortunately," Twilight solemnly responded, "that's also according to my research." With her horn, she switched the image on her crystal ball to another high-school girl, one who resembled the Sunset Shimmer Twilight faced off against at Canterlot High's Fall Formal Princess Pageant. The image showed the other Sunset actually as she walked up to the other Twilight, grabbed her books and papers from the locker, and threw them high in the air to scatter them. In desperation, the other Twilight scrambled across the floor to gather her books and papers again, as Sunset and the other surrounding schoolkids laughed at her for her misfortune, with Spike barking at the kids to defend his owner. "Did that alternate Sunset just... bully the other Twilight?" Fluttershy shyly asked. "Much like me before I met you," Twilight continued to her friends, "this version of me has no friends save for probably her dog. As a result, the alternate Sunset Shimmer would take advantage of the alternate me's lack of friends to bully her relentlessly. Hay, we can't even forget about the other kids laughing at the other me's misfortune, either; she's that lonely." "Why does that other you have no friends?" Rainbow asked, as Sunset and the other kids in the crystal ball left the alternate Twilight to gather her books back. "Even though that girl is me," Twilight answered, "I do not have access to her mind, so I can't say. However, one theory springs to mind: Like me, she has no friends because she doesn't want any, because all she wants to do is study." "How are we involved in this?" Applejack asked. "Ah mean, Ah feel sorry for your alternate self 'n everything, but we ain't in 'er world, so there ain't no way we can help 'er." "That's because I'm sending you there!" Twilight announced. "WHAT!!!?" Twilight's friends were horrified by the news. "You heard me," Twilight continued. "Somepony needs to enter the Canterlot High I've found for you, and teach her about the magic of friendship. And so far, based on your experience with me, I'm sending you on this high-risk operation to do so!" Rarity's heart beaten uncontrollably, her mouth hanging down wide open. "You mean... throw us into this Canterlot High... and turning us into... these bizarre-looking bipeds?" "Aw, come on, Rare!" Rainbow Dash assured Rarity. "We've had a history of adventure together, and despite the impossible odds we've made it out alive many times over. Surely, adapting to hands and walking on two legs won't be bad, either!" "Rainbow's right," Twilight said to the white unicorn. "Besides, I have a good reason for this: It's because it was unfair for me to enter a world inhabited by these creatures but not you. Not only that, but there weren't any alternate versions of me or Spike. So, to even things out between the six of us, I'm sending you on this mission." "I thought everything was already evened out," Pinkie Pie interjected. "When you entered the last Canterlot High, you met us... well, they weren't us per se, but they were technically us but with memories as high-school teenagers rather than ponies. But then..." Pinkie's head started to spin, "Even though those girls weren't us, they looked and acted like us, even shared the same names as us, so they are us but aren't us even though--" "We get it, Pinkie!" Applejack interrutped. She then continued to Twilight, "Look, the point is that even though we couldn't accompany you, our alternate selves compensated for our absence. So in a way, we did help you, just indirectly and without even knowin'. So surely, there ain't no need to send us to help your alternate self the same way ours' helped you." "Oh, but I insist," Twilight responded. "You are all my friends, and friends give each other equal opportunities. So as your friend and leader, I'm giving you this opportunity to compensate for not accompanying me into the previous Canterlot High." "If you insist," Fluttershy said. "You know, if that's okay with you..." "I'll let you go back to your homes to pack up, but I expect you to be back as quickly as possible. As you saw in the crystal ball, the alternate me is suffering without you!" "Right!" The five girls responded, as they left Twilight's home to enter theirs' and begin to pack up. As they left, the baby dragon Spike walked past them and into the library, carrying what appeared to be bags of groceries such as hay and salad. As soon as Spike placed the bags on the floor, he wiped his forehead of sweat, took a deep breath, and said to Twilight, "I'm back from my grocery shopping!" He then faced the crystal ball, which still showed the image of the alternate Twilight and her dog resembling Spike. "I just can't believe you're sending our own friends to another Canterlot High, just because they couldn't accompany you to the last one. Don't you realize what Princess Celestia said about sending multiple Elements of Harmony into another world, whether it's the Canterlot High we entered or the one you're sending your friends into?" "Don't worry, Spike," Twilight assured her assistant. "To ensure that the other Canterlot High doesn't lose its natural balance and get destroyed, I won't accompany them. Princess Celestia said that the only way the other Canterlot High could be destroyed is if all the Elements of Harmony entered, and I'm only sending out five, not including myself. Besides, I only have a limited amount of magical strength to open up a portal for a short time, meaning that I won't have enough of that strength left to join them." "But then, it's at that point, there's no turning back! You're literally imprisoning your own friends in another world, like they might as well be Luna when she was banished to the moon, or Discord when he was imprisoned in stone!" "I'll still watch them through that crystal ball. Once they succeed, I'll open another portal to bring them back here." "And let's not forget about how labyrinthine this place is, and crowded, too! What if they get lost or separated? And what about growing a pair of hands and walking on two legs?" "Despite the fact that you, yourself, had no problem turning into a dog?" "Oh... well, there's that, and I was cool with it. But your sending your friends into something they have a slim chance of surviving in, and without you as their leader and everything!" "Come on, Spike! You know them as much as I do. I'm sending them on a mission to teach another me about friendship, and they had like, how many... three years of experience teaching me about friendship? If they can handle me, surely they can handle another version of me!" *** Applejack was the first to arrive in front of Twilight's library with her saddle-bags packed with supplies, such as snacks and bandages. Twi ain't Celestia, she thought to herself. It's one thing to go on the adventures herself, just 'cause Celestia doesn't do so herself. But to send the five of us on this adventure, probably without her... "Applejack, darling!" The orange farm-pony turned around and saw Rarity walking to her, also wearing her fully-packed saddlebags as well as an expensive hat and scarf. "Hey, Rare," The orange farm-pony greeted her friend with little enthusiasm. "You don't look fine. Anything I can do to help you feel better?" "Actually, Ah'm fine. It's just that I had to tell Granny Smith that I won't be helpin' 'er farm apples because Ah'm headin' to another dimension. She didn't believe me and kept insistin' that Ah stay with 'er, but Ah argued with 'er relentlessly 'til I said this was for mah friends." "Did she eventually give in?" Applejack sighed. "She eventually said to me, 'If this is for your friends, then don't keep 'em waiting.' Granted, Applebloom wanted to come with me on this trip, but Ah told 'er it would be a dangerous trip. Mah baby-sis kept insistin', but I still refused 'er, and said that she'll 'ave to wait for me 'til Ah return." "I was doing the same with Sweetie Belle, you know? Oh, you should've seen how she cried and begged to come with us, possibly to get her cutie-mark in dimension hopping!" "Which was what mah baby-sis thought she'd get once she comes with me!" "And Scootaloo, too!" Called out a tomboyish voice. Applejack and Rarity eventually saw Rainbow Dash walking to them, also with her saddle-bags packed with supplies. "She thinks she can earn her cutie-mark in growing a pair of hands and walking on two legs, even though our chances of surviving the second Canterlot High is almost slim-to-none!" "Ya'll don't need to remind us, RD," Applejack responded. "The Cutie-Mark Crusaders'll do anythin' to get cutie-marks, even if it means throwin' their lives away like garbage!" She turned her head back and forth, before the orange farm-pony went off-topic, "By the way, where are Pinkie and Fluttershy?" "Hello!" A loud, familiar voice from behind Applejack startled her, and before she knew it, she and her two friends saw Pinkie Pie behind the farm-pony. Like the others, she also had her bags packed with supplies. "This is going to be so exciting!" The pink party-pony said to her friends. "I mean, you and me, growing hands and walking on two legs, exploring another Canterlot High to help Twilight's alternate self learn about friendship? And the best part? It's all compensation for Twilight not bringing us into the previous Canterlot High!" "I-I don't know..." The girls turned to face Fluttershy, the last to come to Twilight's library with her own saddle-bags packed with supplies. "I-I mean... Twilight herself was barely able to survive it... so what if we..." "Where in all of Tartarus is your sense of adventure?" Rainbow wrapped her front-right leg around Fluttershy's shoulders. "Yeah, it'll be dangerous, but that's the whole point of adventure! You're supposed to expose yourself to danger in an adventure, just so that you could build character!" "I-if you say so..." The animal caretaker meekly and quietly answered. "You're all here!" The girls looked up and saw Twilight sticking her head out of one of the top windows. She then disappeared behind that window, and eventually reappeared behind her front door, inviting her friends in. In the library, the five girls lined up in front of their leader. "Based on the saddle-bags you're carrying," Twilight said to her friends, "I assume you're fully packed for the second Canterlot High?" The lavender alicorn's friends nodded yes. "Then let's go over some protocol, shall we? "I'm going to open a portal for you leading to the second Canterlot High, but I won't have the magical capabilities to keep it open for long." "So then, once we enter... there's no going back?" Fluttershy meekly asked. "I'm sorry," Twilight answered Fluttershy, "but your right. The portal will close behind you, and there will be no way for you to go back unless I open another portal for you. But don't worry, because I'll still watch you from my crystal ball, and once you successfully teach the alternate me about friendship, I'll open a portal back home. "Also, once you enter that other Canterlot High, you might magically transform from ponies to one of those bipedal creatures. When that happens, don't freak out and try to adapt to walking on two legs and holding objects with hands. Also, Canterlot High is a large, crowded, labyrinthine school, and as a result, you might get lost or split up. So, whatever happens, stick together at all times, no matter what!" "And if we find your alternate self?" Rainbow asked. "Teach her everything there is to know about friendship, like you did me. And if she refuses like I used to, then keep persisting until she gives in! Chances are that, like me, she will not accept your friendship, let alone anyone's. However, that's to be expected, but I'm sure that, with your experience with me, you'll eventually succeed." "What about you?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you coming with us?" "I'm afraid I can't. You see, somepony has to open the portal from the other side, and if I join you, I'll lose my magic and be unable to return us to Equestria. Granted, I could bring the Element of Magic with me so that I can use magic in the other Canterlot High, but Princess Celestia said that all six Elements of Harmony entering Canterlot High at once would cause them to react differently and disrupt its natural balance. However, if only five of you entered the other Canterlot High, then not much damage will be done!" "Anythin' else, sugar-cube?" Applejack asked. "Only that, no matter what happens, you are all my friends. United under my leadership, you've survived impossible odds many times over, and helped me rise to power as Equestria's new leader. If you can help me master friendship, then surely you can do likewise with my alternate self, and that would be the greatest thing any friend could ever do!" Twilight faced away from her friends. As her horn glowed a lavender hue, a flash of light exploded in front of the girls and turned into what looked like an electrified funnel. "Girls, now!" The lavender alicorn called to her friends. "While I have the portal open, enter it before it closes!" The girls looked and nodded at each other, then one at a time entered the portal. However, as Fluttershy saw her friends disappear behind the portal, she became the only one left behind, fearful of what might lie ahead. "Fluttershy!" Twilight called out to her friend. "You, too!" Listening to Twilight, the animal caretaker closed her eyes and blindly ran into the portal, hoping to catch up with her friends. A bright flash of light appeared before her, until darkness took hold of her...