Princess Celestia walked over to the transformed Twilight, and leaned down, nuzzling her gently. "Did you really think I wouldn't believe you, Twilight? I've known you long enough, and you were never a good actor."

Twilight nearly collapsed in relief. Around her, the other mares likewise let out breaths that they hadn't realized they were holding. Rarity spoke up. "Still, this begs the question. How did Twilight become a Changeling in the first place?"

Celestia frowned. "If I were to hazard a guess, this is a transparent ploy at revenge from the Changeling Queen."

Twilight blinked. "But why me? Why would she target me, rather than you, or Shining Armor, or Cadence?"

Celestia smiled. "Out of everypony who interacted with her while she posed as Cadence, you were the only pony who suspected her true intentions." The Princess's face fell, and she hung her head. "Yet when you tried to expose her, instead of listening to you, I told you off. You've rarely been wrong in the past, and yet I refused to even consider the possibility that you were telling the truth."

When Celestia raised her head again, the ponies were all shocked to see her eyes brimming with tears. "Can... can you ever forgive me, Twilight?"

Twilight responded quickly, nuzzling the Princess. "Of course I can," she said. "You've been there for me ever since that fateful entrance exam. I could never stay mad at you."

Celestia smiled, and wrapped Twilight in a hug, which the former unicorn eagerly returned. As they embraced, however, Twilight felt a sudden surge of energy. It took her a moment, but she realized that it had to be coming from Celestia... more specifically, Celestia's love of her!

Twilight thought about breaking the embrace... for all of one second. The sheer intoxicating quality of the love she was getting quickly overrode that, and she continued to hold her teacher. At least, until Rarity coughed. "Ahem. This is very touching, truly, but we can't exactly let Twilight roam around Canterlot like this, now can we?"

Breaking the embrace (and the flow of love, much to Twilight's dismay), Celestia nodded. "You're quite right, Rarity. Given recent circumstances, Twilight's condition would only raise undue suspicion, and maybe even outright hostility." She frowned, putting a hoof to her chin. "Still, while I'd normally insist she stay in Canterlot until I can find a way to reverse this change, I believe that would be counterproductive. I think it would be best if Twilight went with you all back to Ponyville, and conducted research there."

"And just how is she gonna do that, yer Highness?" asked Applejack. "Get back to Ponyville, ah mean."

Celestia smiled wryly. "She is a Changeling now, for better or for worse."

Everypony looked at Twilight, who flushed slightly under the attention (or was it a sort of afterglow from absorbing Celestia's love?). Still, she turned her thoughts inward, searching for her magic... and for the means to transform.

FWOOSH!

Twilight's body was engulfed in a brief flash of green light. When everypony blinked the spots out of their vision, they saw that Twilight now bore her standard lavender unicorn form. "Ah, much better!" she declared, looking in the mirror. "That's the face I wanted to see when I woke up."

Celestia chuckled. "Well, it looks like you have things well in hoof, here," she said, and turned to leave. Before she did, she paused. "Though, could you change back for a moment, Twilight? There's something I'd like to check."

Twilight blinked, but complied, returning to her Changeling form. Celestia walked over, and prodded the crown-shaped growth on Twilight's head. The ex-unicorn gasped at the contact, proving that it was attached. "What's up with that crown?" she asked.

"I'm uncertain," Celestia replied. "Although, if memory serves, the Changeling Queen had a similar crown on her head. Perhaps it is a symbol of status?"

Twilight shrugged. "Who knows. Besides, as small as I am, I probably won't be imponynating a Princess." A flash of green light caused Celestia to step away from her student. When it cleared, to everypony's shock, there stood a perfect physical copy of Celestia, down to the jewelry. The only difference was that one was staring at the other, who was staring at her hooves. "Of course, I could be wrong," the second Celestia said, in a perfect copy of the Princess's voice.

Rainbow Dash began giggling. "Oh, man. Imagine the pranks you could pull with this!"

The second Celestia glowed green, returning to Twilight's old form. "Okay, I can shapeshift without worry. And apparently I need to be careful about when I trigger the changes." She smiled at her friends. "Let's head back to Ponyville before anything else unexpected happens, okay?"

"Hey, hold on, Twilight!" Rainbow interrupted. "You may have gotten the hang of shapeshifting, but you haven't even started flying yet! It'd be a shame to waste those new wings of yours."

Twilight blinked. "But if we get back to Ponyville, we'll have plenty of open space, and we'll be less likely to be spotted by other ponies."

Rainbow opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Eh, I guess you're right."

"I wish you luck, my little ponies. Luna and I will do what we can for your condition from here, Twilight," Celestia said.

The ponies all bowed to their benevolent ruler, and filed out, heading for the train to Ponyville. q q q q q q