Twilight Sparkle walked down the road, still staring at the map on her phone, before staring around the place.
She was just a normal high-schooler living a normal life - unless you counted being overcome by a force that was too powerful for you to understand and for science to make sense of, and almost destroying the entire universe, including one that was dominated by sentient talking ponies.
Yeah...it still haunted her from time to time. Heck, she even threw her old magic-absorbing pendant away when she was given it back, in case something like that ever happened again...in case something like her ever got loose.
Ever since, she had been tormented by nightmares, overcome them and gained new powers in the process...
But still, things weren't always that bad.
She had actually made a few friends - both at Crystal Prep and Canterlot High - but the latter was the school she chose to stay with, and she couldn't feel any more welcome. And after a few awkward introductions (including her counterpart from said pony universe who is a magical princess who saved the world multiple times) and getting used to her new school, here she was, going to her first party.
The party in question was a mystery - rumours around the neighbourhood said it was just a birthday party or even a movie night, but eventually the true purpose of it was forgotten over time. Really, the only thing that was confirmed was that it took place at a fellow student named Flash Sentry's house.
And as she got to the entrance of it, she might as well have entered a zoo.
People were all over the place, some hanging out in a swimming pool nearby, or talking near the entrance. The inside of the house was quite spacious, but still modest - several people had already began to do whatever inside, be it making snacks, passing out on the floor, or stumbling around wildly in the pure thrill of the moment.
To be honest, Twilight was wondering if she should have left the place altogether - she was pretty sure the entire neighbourhood had decided to gather here. And after all, she was still getting used to having friends... she didn't even know most of these people.
Needless to say, the idea of even talking to them was thrown out the window when a girl took a running start and ended up breaking a coffee table in half.
That made Twilight want to leave this place even more, until she saw a familar figure out of the corner of her eye - Pinkie Pie herself. It was no surprise that the city's most renowned party planner would be at this party, considering how talked about it was. And she didn't even have to think, for the hyper girl was right next to her in a second.
"Hiya, Twilight!" She grinned, somehow almost more hyper than usual. "Wow, this party's great, huh? I even helped Flash with some of the balloons and decorations! And hey, there's also a frosted cake made by yours truly!"
"Uh, yeah..." Twilight straightened her glasses, still taking in the scene before her eyes. Nearby, an elderly woman walked up to one of the radios where loud music was playing and began to enthusiastically move to the beat. Oddly enough, she seemed to be enjoying herself more than anyone else at the party. "You're really, uh...passionate about what you do, huh?"
"Yep! It's great to see the smiles on everyone's faces..." she trailed off, a look of longing in her eyes, before she shook her head and carried on. "By the way, you should really try the punch! I heard it tastes like blueberries or something...mmm..." a smile spread over her face as she imagined the taste, before she nodded and zipped off; presumably to get some punch, leaving Twilight just as lonely as she had been before the conversation had even started.
She had never been to a party before - at least, not one this big - and nobody she knew was in sight. Growing up, she had never really made friends, and most of her time at Crystal Prep didn't help either - the people there either didn't care when she talked, just walked away, or lashed out at her, not wanting her to 'waste their time'. And now, the situation she was in was almost a nightmare - Pinkie Pie was lost among the swarm of party-goers and unrecognisable faces, and it would probably take more than an hour to find her if she tried to. Sure, she could shout, but most of her time at Crystal Prep in addition to her childhood told her that somebody would probably scream at her if she did. She didn't want to anger anyone who might have drank maybe just a little too much alcohol.
And just as it seemed like things were hopeless, she saw her.
A girl had just entered the room - she had bright red and yellow-coloured hair, tied up in a ponytail instead of the usual way she had seen her wearing it. Her blue eyes nervously darted around the room, almost just as shocked as Twilight was, and she had a mole on her left cheek. She wore a crimson polo shirt and dark jeans, along with some red sneakers; on her wrist was a strange bracelet with a multi-coloured gemstone inside of it.
The girl kept glancing at the bracelet every few seconds, examining the gemstone inside it before going back to standing there, awkwardly glancing around the room in a similar manner to that of Twilight.
Twilight instantly recognised this girl the moment she saw her - Sunset Shimmer, the person who had freed her from being overcome by dark magic...the person who had become her first friend.
"Sunset!" She gasped, running over to the girl, a wide grin on her face. "I didn't expect you to come here!"
The girl seemed lost in thought, before she snapped out of it and noticed Twilight, almost seeming confused.
Squinting through the bright lights of the party, she glanced at her up and down, before waving awkwardly. "Uh, hey...you. Do you need anything, or any help? Because I just got here, and..."
"What? No, Sunset, I was just saying, I didn't expect you to come here. I didn't really think you'd want to come to one of these things..." Twilight straightened her glasses, but the girl only stood there in silence, a confused expression on her face.
The two of them just stood there, before Sunset's eyes widened and she glanced back at the girl, stepping back a little as her eyes darted in all directions. She seemed weirded out by the girl who somehow knew her name and was acting like they were friends. "Uh...do I know you? Did...did I ever meet someone like you while I was drunk or anything? Because I really don't know..."
"What?" Twilight asked, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sunset, it's me. You didn't have too many drinks, did you?"
"N-No, I just got here, the whole neighbourhood was talking about it, I..." 'Sunset' took more steps back as she got more afraid, almost gripping her bracelet in fear as it began to glow a little. "I don't understand what you're talking about, I don't...maybe you've got the wrong person, I...I have to go!"
Twilight barely had time to register this before the girl ran away, pushing past the crowd as her bracelet began to glow even more, covering the illuminated gemstone as she ran.
"Hey, wait!" Twilight yelled after her, giving chase as they both ran out of the house. Pinkie Pie was drowning herself in punch, just reaching to grab another cup before Twilight and Sunset came charging past, knocking her over in the process. Dazed, she got up and looked in the direction where they had just ran, before shrugging and going back to whatever she was doing.
Twilight ran after the girl, who seemed to be somehow faster than ever. What had she done wrong? Why was Sunset acting so strange? Even as she ran after Sunset, the girl clutching her bracelet so hard it would probably leave a mark afterwards, she pondered this. Did magic get to her? Had someone erased her memory?
Then, the realisation hit her. If she had a pony counterpart from another world, then who was to say that Sunset didn't have one?
"Leave me alone!" Sunset cried as the night sky loomed above them, her bracelet emitting an even stronger glow. "What do you even want from me?"
Twilight was so stunned that she couldn't give an answer, but then almost stopped in her tracks as the bracelet began to glow even more, Sunset's breathing getting more laboured, and a yellow vein slowly creeping up her arm as a flash of light engulfed them both.
Twilight shielded her eyes as the blast got bigger, before spreading into the sky and exploding in a flash of light...leavig nothing.
The girl looked around the place, seeing nothing at all, Sunset having gone with the flash of light.
She just stood there, stunned as the reality of what had just happened hit her.
Sunset had a counterpart. But even worse, that counterpart had Equestrian magic.