The coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle was the event of the year, or maybe the millenium. The creation of a new alicorn had the whole country of Equestria buzzing with excitement.

The event hall in Canterlot Castle was packed with dignitaries and important ponies from all over. Princess Twilight, looking quite extravagant in her new dress, walked the red carpet followed by a royal escort. Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were waiting for her at the front of the room.

Ponies cheered for the arrival of their new princess, many waving hooves and calling out approvals as Twilight walked past them. Mounting the stairs, Twilight stood next to her new peers as her family, friends, and the citizens of Equestria applauded by stamping their hooves against the floor in celebration for their princess.

Before the next musical number could begin, one stallion in the crowd departed from the celebratory event. Bitter, he walked with a stooped posture as he made his way to the exit.

Prince Blueblood had seen his share of royal events, but none had affected him quite like this one. Princess Twilight Sparkle...she was barely old enough to be a grown mare, yet had ascended into royalty based on what? Friendship? Blueblood snorted. It was preposterous.

While real royalty of a pure bloodline went about their days, a new imposter of the crown had appeared. The thought made Blueblood’s teeth clench. To think some peasant scholar such as Twilight could ever be called a royal sent him into a barely contained fury. If he hadn’t left when he did, he wasn’t sure how he’d react as the coronation went onward.

Blueblood turned a corner and continued down the hallway. He noticed a slight stomachache coming on, possibly caused by his consternation. He made a note to take some antacids. He didn’t need an ulcer right now.

Trudging down the hallway, he passed by servant and guard alike, the castle staff being wise not to catch any unwanted attention from their prince. Blueblood was well known for a short fuse accompanied by a loud mouth to direct the explosion. But as for now, he didn’t feel like verbally beating any of them.

“Just my luck my room has to be on the opposite side of the castle,” Blueblood muttered to himself, scowling at yet another corner he had to turn for. “Why did I even come to the ceremony anyways? Just to listen to the mindless masses clamouring for their new precious pony princess? Bah, I have better things to do than waste my time for such pathetic events.”

He continued on, winding his way through the maze of corridors that had been created ad-hoc whenever the castle needed to expand. Each new add-on came from a different century of design with whatever architect had been hired over the years. Over time, gloomy gothic had clashed with more robust classicism so that one couldn’t even tell what the original design of the castle even was. It had taken years of living here before Blueblood knew every twist and turn the castle had to offer. He smirked at the thought that Twilight would have a lot of memorization ahead of her.

The pain in his gut came again, sharper this time. Grimacing, Blueblood stumbled slightly, but continued on his way undeterred. He kept his mouth shut, as there was no one around to complain to. The only thing on his mind was getting back to his room so he could relax the insufferable day away in peace.

Walking past the arched doorway leading to the vaulted ceilings of the older parts of the castle, another pestering thought entered his mind. Particularly related to the bane of his existence that was Twilight Sparkle, Auntie Celestia’s precious student, and even worse now, pathetic excuse for a princess.

It was her fault that Celestia never had any time for him. Blueblood was Celestia’s nephew, for Harmony’s sake! She’d make a place for him at the castle after his parents had died. And then as soon as Twilight had arrived and become the focus of her attention, Blueblood had been cast off like a gutter trash. Nopony had cared for him then, and even less so now. The worst part was that Twilight never had to go through that, and yet she still got to be a princess. Blueblood, meanwhile, had been given the bad end of karma ever since he could remember, and he didn’t get a damn thing other than a useless royal title.

“Champagne, Prince?” asked a servant passing by with a tray of refreshments from the ceremony.

Blueblood paused to take a glass. The first sip, however, brought forth such a violent spike of pain in his abdomen that he spit it out in anguish. “Gah!”

He threw the partially full glass at the servant and stalked away. Something was definitely wrong with him and it seemed to be spreading. A nice nap might help, and Blueblood made for his room, walking hunched as his innards continued to plot against him.

Having finally arrived at the correct hallway out of the hundreds in the castle, a content sigh escaped his lips once he caught sight of his door. Opening to his room, another wave of agony wracked through his body, seeming to move out from his stomach and now permeating most of his torso.

“Ugh… this stomachache will be the death of me,” Blueblood groaned, stumbling through his room. Not only did Twilight of all ponies get promoted, but he had to get sick with a nasty bug! He felt so exhausted, he didn’t even bother taking off his suit he always wore to any social event.

Knowing that a mix of pills and alcohol wasn’t the best of ideas, Blueblood decided to skip out on the booze and get the pain relief right away. Going into the attached bathroom, he opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and took out a bottle from the drugstore.

Blueblood’s hoof was shaking now, his entire body being twisted by torment that he was sure his guts would burst out. Chucking back pills without even water to wash them down, his eyes winced at the shot of intense pain that jolted down his spine.

Gasping, he fell to the floor. Blueblood quickly realized that whatever was troubling his insides wasn’t going to be solved by simple over the counter medication. It felt like fire was running through his veins as he held himself in the fetal position. His limbs were shaking so uncontrollably that they felt like jello.

His back ached involuntarily, Blueblood silently screaming as his skin felt like it was splitting open. His muscles twitched uncontrollably as two oblong bumps appeared underneath his suit, pushing forward so much so that they ripped through the cloth.

And then, the pressure eased. Blueblood panted on the floor, slowly recovering. He got his hooves under him and struggled to stand, using the edge of the sink for support. He paused there for a moment to collect himself as sweat poured down his face.

Raising his head, Blueblood looked in the mirror. A pair of insectoid wings glistening with blood and green ichor had forced themselves out of his body. They were completely unnatural, alien appendages that had sprung up out of nowhere. Blueblood was so stunned that he could only stare with a blank expression at his reflection.

“What happened?” he whispered.

I happened, an amused female voice replied.

Blueblood spun, checking every corner of the bathroom. The wings seemed to move of their own accord, shivering in the air. “Who said that?”

I’m right here, in your head.

Blueblood turned back to the mirror, and as he watched his own face seemed to shift and distort to a more alien look. The teeth were sharper and the eyes had changed to green with slitted pupils. The muzzle was pointed and narrower, gently curving into the rest of the face which had smoothed and become more delicate. The appearance was a nightmarish version of his own reflection, and somehow made all the more frightening by the feminine undertones.

He raised a hoof to check, but felt nothing more than his own skin. Despite that, the face in the mirror smiled. “Hello Blueblood. You and I are going to get very well acquainted with one another.”

“What type of drugs did I take?” Blueblood asked himself, looking down at the floor to see where the pill bottle was.

“Trust me, I’m very real,” she replied.

“So how do I get rid of you?” Blueblood asked, not finding anything on the pill bottle label to indicate hallucinogenic side effects.

“And why would you want to do that?” she asked, smirking.

“Oh, let me just think for a sec,” Blueblood replied, tapping his chin. “Maybe the part about how I have wings!”

“But I thought that was what you wanted?” she pouted.

“Wings? What are you talking about?” Blueblood stomped a hoof to add emphasis.

“I can see what you think about Twilight Sparkle, what she has that you don’t.” The face put on a clever smile. “I can give you that.”

Blueblood felt a ripple of magic wash over him, causing his spine to shiver. It was accompanied by a sparkle of green illumination that wrapped around his body. The gossamer wings sprouting from his back shifted, transforming into feathered plumage that matched his white coat.

“Whoa, you weren’t kidding,” Blueblood murmured in awe. Rubbing his wings, he was surprised at the realistic texture and softness of the feathers. “These things are actually real.”

“Of course,” she assured him. “You’re my partner.”

Blueblood took his eyes off his impressive wings to stare at the mirror. “Partner in what?”

The face that stared back put on its signature wicked smile. “Why, anything you want.”

Blueblood considered that proposal. “Anything?” he asked, staring right into her eyes.

“Whatever your heart desires,” she said, her green eyes sparkled as she stared back at him.

“Huh…” Blueblood scratched his mane, analyzing the current situation. “On one hoof, I have an unexplainable alien… thing, is speaking to me in my mirror. On the other, I have wings now. So I guess it’s a good thing…”

“Do you wish for more assurance?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. “Maybe a test of your new abilities will rest your inhibitions?”

“Wait, do you mean flying?” Blueblood said eagerly, instinctively flapping his new wings. They felt sore to move, but flexing the muscles gave them more freedom of movement.

“Indeed. Ready to try them out?”

Blueblood’s face fell. “But it’s daylight. I can’t been seen like this.” His expression brightened. “Not yet, anyway.”

“We can still get you some practice.”

Blueblood nodded. “My bedroom has high ceilings.”

“Excellent.”

They both smiled at each other in the mirror, this time the reflection appearing more similar than ever before. Blueblood turned and left the bathroom.

A few minutes of frantic activity later that amount to pretty much nothing, Blueblood lay panting on the floor. “Why… why is flying so hard?”

Let me help. The voice was still speaking to him in his mind. Blueblood got up, his face feeling slightly heated at being so undignified. He was now an alicorn! He shouldn’t be so clumsy. Especially in front of his new guest… that was in his head. Thinking it over, that wasn’t exactly the creepiest thing that had happened to him that day.

Spread your wings. Feel the air. You’re now part pegasus. This is how they fly.

Blueblood concentrated, attempting to take in the new sensations. He could feel his feathers and how they interacted with the air. A few vague ideas passed through his mind, instincts that he’d never had need of before. He tried a few tentative flaps, more carefully than before.

Feeling the ruffle of his feathers spreading to catch the air, Blueblood smiled as he felt the weight of his body leave his hooves.

“I think I’m actually doing it!” he shouted excitedly, shaking his legs in the air as he increased the pace with his flapping. Now he floated a good three feet over the ground, rising higher and higher as he strained his wings harder. “This is so awe–”

Blueblood was cut off when the top of his skull impacted painfully with the ceiling. He tumbled out of the air, landing on the floor with a thud.

Ouch. Be more careful, please.

Shaking his head and wincing at the throb of pain in his noggin, Blueblood asked, “Why exactly are you concerned? You’re not the one crashing.”

The voice seemed to ignore his question. Okay, get up. Try again.

Casting a wary glance at the ceiling, Blueblood spread his wings to try again. Repeating the same process as before, he took off from the ground, but remained hovering in the air.

“Okay… okay, going good so far,” Blueblood muttered, staring uneasily at the distant ground while looking back up to avoid creating another dent in his ceiling. “Now what?”

Trying moving forward. Use your wings to position yourself leaning ahead, and then flap away.

Blueblood followed her directions, moving his chest to a lower position while sticking his wings up higher behind his body. He was surprised to find himself moving forward, slowly but surely, across his room.

Unfortunately, stopping proved to be a problem when Blueblood met the wall on the other side of the room in a painful confrontation.