It was almost Day 50 by the time Pinkie Pie returned with Zecora, but technically it was before midnight; so I'm labelling this entry Day 49.

Spike was already asleep, so we went to the basement to discuss things. Zecora brought saddlebags filled with supplies.

"Thanks for coming here on short notice, Zecora," I said. "I assume Pinkie Pie has told you everything?"

"Yes, indeed. I am aware of this new vampony scare," said Zecora. The zebra alchemist pulled a wrap out of her saddlebags. It contained a large cluster of purple flowers with odd-looking hoods.

"Wait. I've seen that flower before," I said. "Is that aconitum? It's extremely toxic."

"Aconitum, also known as monkshood or wolfsbane, is grown in certain nooks of Everfree. It blocks shapeshift of vampony," she rhymed.

"Yep!" said Pinkie Pie. "That's the flower Mac uses."

"I was hoping you could come up with an alchemical cure based on the plant. I don't know how it suppresses vampony transformation, though. It's not a magical plant, is it?" I asked.

"No. Aconitum is mundane. Vampony magic is to blame," said Zecora. "But still, a cure? A tricky notion. Wolfsbane's too toxic in a potion. Without special preparation, it would spell your expiration."

"Yeah, we don't want that," I emphatically agreed. "I think I might be able to come up with a spell that will do the trick, but it will take time. I'm going to spend tomorrow working on it to see how far I can get."

"If I may work here, I shall too. I have supplies with which to brew," said Zecora.

"And I can make some tasty stew!" added Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, don't insult Zecora's vow," I chastized.

Pinkie pouted. "I'm just trying to participate."

"It's okay Pinkie, I don't mind. I know you're trying to be kind," Zecora smiled.

"Oh, Zecora: did Pinkie tell you about the missing memories?" I asked.

"Ah yes, Twilight's lost memories. I have a potion sure to please," Zecora said, and pulled out a small flask filled with green liquid. "It will recover only dreams, but that is all you need, it seems."

Zecora went on to tell me how to use the potion. Basically, I take it, and focus my memory on the last thing I can remember before the missing memories. Then I'll fall into a deep sleep, and have the same dreams I had before, only I'll be able to remember them. It's similar to the history potion she gave me previously: I'll be a spectator to the dream, and unable to influence it. If I played an important role, I should be able to see and hear what I did, though. I'll end this entry just before going to sleep.

I gave Zecora access to some books on magic she needed, and she seems right at home in a chemistry lab. She's remarkably knowledgeable about things you wouldn't expect from a shaman. My prejudices, I guess. Thank Celestia she's on our side, though. Zecora could make a formidable adversary. Not only is she an amazing alchemist, she commands magic in ways I still don't fully understand.

While Zecora was working, Pinkie got my attention.

"Twilight! Can you do the brain scanny thing?" Pinkie asked me, pointing to one of the devices I keep down here.

Let me say this loud and clear: I really, really, really wanted to do those scans. I knew that having before and after data would be immensely useful. But I'm worried it will let Pinkie off the hook to have her brain damaged, so I was terrified of the prospect.

"I don't know if I can, Pinkie. I'm worried about the brain thing, and I don't want to lose you," I whispered to her. If Zecora noticed the conversation, she did an excellent job pretending she didn't.

"Twilight, it's okay. The brain thing doesn't hurt or anything. Rarity and Fluttershy are just fine," she said.

"No, Pinkie. You are not doing the brain thing, period!" I said, trying hard to keep my emotions in check.

"Okay, but I Pinkie Promised I wouldn't do it! So can you scan me?" she asked.

"If you don't want to do the brain thing then I don't see why you're so eager for the scans," I said. "I'm worried about this Pinkie. I want to trust you, but I'm scared."

"Twilight, I Pinkie Pie Promise I will not do the brain thing without you explicitly telling me that I can. Okay?" she begged, and looked up to me with these shiny puppy-dog eyes (no idea how she does that but ouch, my insulin).

"Fine, but you promised," I whispered, and gave her a tight hug.

It took about an hour to set up the machines, so it was pretty late and I was getting tired; but the potion was going to ensure I'd get a good night's sleep at least. As I was finishing the prep work, Zecora went to sleep on the floor (she had already finished her own chemistry setup in a separate area of the basement). I laid out some blankets and cushions for her (she didn't ask for them and I'm pretty sure she could sleep on her head—actually, come to think, I've seen her do that once—but I'm a courteous host).

I strapped Pinkie Pie into the helmet and shackles (not sure why I included those the first time we did this but this time they certainly make sense!). The machines were relatively quiet, fortunately (not that Zecora is a light sleeper). I took some baseline measurements first. Then I put together a remote-controlled spring-loaded device and attached it to her withers.

"Ooh! Watcha doin'?" asked Pinkie.

"This device will hold a wolfsbane flower at one end," I explained. "I can trigger it by remote control, in which case it will smash it up against your back, though not hard enough to hurt you or anything. This way you can turn all the way into a darkhoof without any danger."

"Neat!" she said. "But two things."

"Go ahead."

"First, I'm always a darkhoof, silly! I just don't always reveal the nature, because I'm not experienced enough to control it," she explained. "I think Mac refers to it as 'letting the wolf out' or something." She grinned a fangy grin.

"Um, right," I said, thoroughly creeped out. "And the other thing?"

"I might be able to control it better if I focus really hard this time, so I'll do what I can," she said.

"Good. That should help me to get some better measurements," I said. "Now transform slowly while I tune the instrument, okay? First, just the ears..."

I took measurements until everything was fully transformed except for her hooves. Now it was time for the hard part.

"Alright Pinkie," I said, and I walked over to remove one shoe.

"You can remove them all," she said. "I'm pretty sure I can avoid changing more than one at a time."

"Okay, but last time you kind of exploded the moment you had two shoes off with everything else transformed."

"Yeah, I know. I'll go slow with the first hoofsie though, okay?" she said with a sheepish grin. (I feel like I should say something about a wolf in pony's clothing here...)

I took off all four of her shoes, and she was holding together reasonably well. I stepped back while the machines continued to take measurements.

"Now let one hoof transform," I said, my magic glimmering on the panic button.

"Ohfuuuckmeinthefaaaacepussssseeeeeefeelssssoogoooooooood," she growled in a raspy voice as her left forelimb began to split and drool. There was definitely something happening in her brain. It will take a while to analyze the data (I'll be doing it first thing tomorrow), but what the machine was spitting out was highly abnormal.

"Nice and easy, Pinkie. Can you do a second limb?" I asked cautiously.

"Twilight," she giggled, as a second limb split apart into wiggling bits.

"Yes Pinkie?" I asked.

"Twiiii-light," Pinkie giggled, her voice low and raspy. No... it was both low and high, like she had two voices going off at once or something? Her eyes glimmered with mischief, and her grin looked unnaturally wide.

"Yes...?" I asked.

"Twiiiiiiiii—liiiiiiiiiight," she growled, long tongue lashing out of her mouth and licking at the red goo dribbling from the slits up both her forelimbs.

At this point, I had run out of things to say, so I was pretty much ready to hit the panic button.

After a moment of silence, she finally said something (other than repeating my name creeptastically).

"You're cute, Twilight," she giggled. "Can I get a kiss?"

"Uh, maybe later Pinkie."

"Just one quickie, promise I'm—ooooohnnnng—still in control," she said, winking at me with that wide grin still stretched past the edges of her freakish muzzle.

I opened my mouth to disagree, but before I had a chance to react her tongue flew out and slapped into my mouth. I would have hit the button, but the tongue relaxed immediately and wasn't trying to pull me anywhere. It had stretched three meters, and the tip was gently caressing my tongue, inside my mouth. I was starting to feel, er, gooey back there (ugh, sorry). I don't know how something that creepy can still turn me on.

I should have been more concerned than I was, though. I tasted something sweet, like cinnamon and lime(?), plus a totally unexpected robust flavor like glutamate. It was a bizarre sensation, but really quite pleasant and I felt it yanking (abstractly speaking) on the parts of my mind and body that the vampony infection affects. I didn't realize this at the time, but I'm fairly certain traces of the goo were being rubbed into my mouth and tongue. Ironically, the fact I'm already partially infected may have been what protected me. It was really foalish of me not to have a flower pinned to my mane before starting the experiment (the real problem is I was too fatigued to run an experiment safely). But I held it together, and the kiss lasted only a few seconds before Pinkie retracted her tongue.

"Thanks Twilie!" she said in a sing-songy voice. I was so overwhelmed I forgot I didn't want to be called 'Twilie' because it reminded me of my brother. Usually it's because it's depressing but at the moment it was for, um, other reasons. But anyway.

"Pinkie I think we need to stop," I said.

"Noooo! I'm fiiiiiine," she giggled in that deep but lilting voice that sounded a little like hooves on a chalkboard. "More legs? All the way?" she said, winking at me again.

"Okay," I whispered, button at the ready.

Pinkie finished her transformation, and wow. I'll never get used to seeing something like this, not in a thousand years. She shivered and drooled in place, rocking against the restraints. It looked like she was in ecstatic bliss, or maybe just impossibly happy about something. Her skin, her legs, everything was just wrong, but her smile was the worst. Gaping, beckoning, tongue constantly wrapping about her face and limbs.

"Wannnna share it with you Twiiiiilie," she giggled, her voice somehow hitting several different octaves at the same time. "Eeeeven if you're not a darkhoof there are hoof secrets," she said. (No idea what that means; not sure I want to.)

Then Pinkie moaned out loud, lifted her tail, and violently bucked as she sprayed something out from her backside—I assume this was an ejaculation—and then she began to giggle and cackle and thrash at the restraints, rapidly damaging them in the process.

Panic button time. POP. The device smashed the flower against her withers and held it there.

Pinkie shuddered, and her legs collapsed back to normal almost immediately. She struggled a little with it, apparently it wasn't completely reflexive? But within a dozen seconds or so she was back to normal (for Pinkie Pie, at least).

"T-tired and horny," she gasped, and I walked over to unfasten her (well, I did wait a short while to see the readings go back to their previous state, but it didn't take long).

"You look exhausted. I think you need to rest," I agreed.

She tried to take the device off of her back and I stopped her.

"It's okay, Twi," she said, and coughed a little. "I can't do the legs if I keep the other parts normal, and I can control the other parts."

"I believe you, but we should be careful, okay?"

"Kay. You can pin some 'bane to my mane," she relented. So I took the device off, but secured the wolfsbane.

Pinkie Pie looked relieved to have her shoes off, so with wolfsbane stuck to her (I used a removable hair glue) we left them off. I very carefully cleaned her and the floor up and burned all the hoofgoo we could find. Once I was satisfied that Pinkie was clean, I let her lie down next to Zecora. She wanted to cuddle Zecora while she slept, which disturbed me a little, but Zecora didn't seem to notice or care so I'm sure she'll deal with it when she wakes. I'm too shaken up to do anything about it at the moment.

Alright, I've finished this entry. I'm upstairs at my bed, it's like 2 in the morning now, and I'm going to use the potion. My next entry will be the recovered dream memories unless something unexpected occurs. And then, data analysis on Pinkie's scans. I used the same glue to stick a flower in the mane right at the back of my neck, and I can sense it working (it's a big relief, more mental than physical). I don't think it will prevent the infection from finishing its job, however, so I've re-cast the spell just before sleeping and I left a note to Zecora to wake me if I stay unconscious for more than twenty hours.

As always, I'll leave the customary space after this entry in case I need to add anything later.