My head felt like it had been fucked with a shovel.

My eyes felt too heavy to open, so I quickly stopped trying. I was lying in a very comfy bed and I could hear the oh-so-familiar beeping of a cardiac monitor to my left. It didn't take long for me to remember the shitty excuse for a magic duel. ...And I'll probably have to double-boost again to fix Vesper. Bucking great. Not necessarily. Trixie threw the amulet before she ran. She's much weaker than me anyway, so if I use that it might not be so bad. Hopefully. This bed is so bucking comfy... For a while I just lay there, relaxing. After about twenty minutes, I felt a bit stronger and decided to try opening my eyes again.

I was in the royal hospital. Must've done more damage than I thought... I was the only one in the room. It was about then when I realised that my horn felt weird. I noticed that there was a small mirror on the bedside table. I reached over with a hoof (my head was pounding too much to even consider using magic), brought it to my face and had a look at myself.

At the base of my horn was a golden ring covered with small runes, each glowing respective colours. I recognised it; it was a magic damping ring. Magic damping rings were designed to continuously block a Unicorn from using his or her magic, usually used on prisoners or suspects by law enforcement Ponies. But why do I have one on? Possibly to let my horn rest from excessive magic use?

The door to the room opened and Rib Remover entered. He paused for a second as he registered that I was awake before finishing the walk to me.

"Hey, Rib," I croaked out. "How long was I out?"

"A week," he replied in his usual tone. A week long coma, huh? It's been a while...

"What was the damage?"

"The over-usage of magical energy caused your brain to break down other energy types to fuel the spell you cast. You suffered an almost full mental collapse and came extremely close to death. I needed to perform complex brain surgery."

"Oh buck. Thanks for saving me, I guess."

"While performing the surgery I discovered that most of your brain cells had mutated."

"What?! It... It mutated me?!"

"No. The mutation appears to be old."

"How old?"

"At least forty weeks. Meaning that it happened not long before you first arrived in this universe." And the mystery of my past deepens...

"What effects is it causing?"

"It appears to be the reason that your magic capacity is substantially larger than an average Unicorn and also why you're more powerful with spells. I suspect it may also be related to the Arcane Circles, but I'm not sure since I don't know how to test for that. There don't appear to be any negative effects."

"That's... Good. Maybe. Wait, then how powerful would I be without the mutation?"

"If my calculation are correct, as they tend to be, you would be weaker than a teenage colt."

"Oh... That's kinda depressing that my normal magic level is that small..."

"In my experience, it's not the size that matters, it's the way you use it. Unfortunately for you, you would normally be terrible with both."

"Great." Wait a minute... "What about Vesper? Is she mutated as well?"

"Upon discovering the mutation, I informed her and asked if I could do some tests. She agreed to it. While she has similar results, the symptoms to it are... Different."

"Different how?"

"It's extremely likely that your female counterpart, Vesper's mother, also has the mutation. However, the mutation seems to have evolved through Vesper and fully bonded with her normal DNA. With you, it's possible that I could remove the mutation, but with your daughter, the mutation doesn't actually exist. Or at least not as an outside force. She gains the effects that you or your female counterpart would, but it isn't a genetic change for her, it's a full part of her DNA."

"So she's just naturally strong?"

"Yes, but its cause is you and you female counterpart being mutated at the time of conception."

"Will it... Ever wear off?"

"There was no way for me to tell."

"So one day I might suddenly become weaker than the sauce they give you at fast food places?"

"Yes, that is entirely possible."

"Great, as if saving the world wasn't hard enough." I sighed. "Why do I have a magic damping ring on my horn?"

"As you probably know, Unicorns automatically radiate traces amounts of magical energy from their horns. The magic damper is to negate that effect to let the part of your brain that controls magic fully rest."

"How much longer does it need to rest?"

"Four more weeks."

"I have to go four weeks without magic?"

"Yes. I know that the damper won't effect you using Arcane Circles since they aren't cast like a spell form your horn, so it won't stop them. However, I highly recommend that you avoid using them until the time is up."

"Should I come back in five weeks to let you check if it's rested enough?"

"Yes, that would be preferable."

"Okay. Well, thanks for fixing me up."

"You're welcome." He looked distracted for a second as if getting a psychic message. "You have visitors. Shall I let them in?"

"Sure." Rib went out into the hall to let my visitors know that they could see me. So... The only reason I'm strong is because of this mutation? A mutation that could wear off at any point in time? Which is also the reason I can use Arcane Circles at all? And if I do lose the mutation, I'll be weaker than a foal? Balls.

Rib re-entered the room followed by God-Horse, Twilight and- Wait, what? ...And Vesper, back in her adult form.

"Hey, Dad," she greeted.

"Hey, Vesper," I greeted back. "When did you get back to normal?" Twilight stepped forward.

"After you collapsed," she started, "I sent a letter to Cele- Princess Celestia." Celestia raised an eyebrow at her. "Sorry... Then I rushed you to Canterlot in your... Vehicle... Thingy."

"The KGBNRB?"

"Yes, that... Thing. Later, I went back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash had dropped off the amulet at the library. After I explained to Vesper what had happened, I had the idea to use the amulet to turn her back to normal and follow the plan from there. Unfortunately, there were some... Side effects... In using the amulet."

"She got obsessed with being powerful and I had to knock her out to get it off of her," said Vesper.

"Yeah, but-!"

"But what?"

"...I don't know..."

"Anyway, I sent it off to Celestia after using it to relieve myself of a certain stress that had built up over the last few weeks. A stress involving dicks. Or the lack thereof."

"I recognised the object as the Alicorn Amulet," interjected Celestia, "an object of immense power and danger. I locked it away underground for safe keeping."

"I came here the other day to get my bitch back and decided to stay in the castle until you woke up."

"I thought you hated Celestia?" I asked.

"...She stayed on Luna's side of the castle..." Mumbled Celestia, looking annoyed.

"You trust Luna more than Celestia?"

"Luna kept me company when I was being erased from existence," explained Vesper, "and Celestia gave Chrysabitch an advantage that almost killed me. Yeah, I trust Luna much more."

"Okay then."

"So are you okay now?"

"Well..." I explained what Rib had told me (with a little help from the doctor himself). Twilight looked shocked, Celestia seemed to be hiding her emotions and Vesper looked disgruntled.

"Well crap. So I guess if you lose your power, the world saving will be all down to me?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Y-You're only powerful because you're mutated?!" Exclaimed/asked Twilight.

"Dr. Remover," Celestia said suddenly, "may I see you in private?" Rib nodded and Celestia teleported him and herself away.

"Oh, and I can't use magic for a month," I added, making Twilight gape even further. "Anypony up for lunch?"

Author's Notes:

Not much comedy in this one, but more past stuffs! Whoo!