A unicorn feverishly worked in their laboratory study, trying different combinations of spells and potions long into the night. There had to be some way, some way to do it, they thought.

"Still at it?" Celestia asked.

"Celestia!" they said, surprised to see her up so late.

"Were you expecting my sister?" Celestia asked.

"I wasn't expecting anypony. I work alone down here."

"Have you yet learned nothing of the value of friendship?" Celestia asked. The unicorn scoffed.

"Friends come and go. But enemies accumulate. What we need now is something that can combat our greatest enemy."

"And what is our greatest enemy?" Celestia asked.

"Time, Your Highness." The bells of his hat jingled as Starswirl the Bearded turned to look at Celestia with his old, tired eyes. The deep lines in his aged face were canyons in his mortal flesh. "Time is always against us." He looked at the perfection that was her ageless beauty. "Most of us, anyway." He looked down at his wrinkled, gnarled hooves, ravaged with arthritis. "It's not fair," he said with a sort of moan. "It's not fair that we should grow old and die."

"Star,"

"I know. I understand why ponies need to be able to die because of population stability and yadda yadda! I know! But even as a pony of science... it still feels unfair." He shuffled through his notes and opened another book. "I'm close, Tia," he said with an edge of excitement. "I'm close to creating a new magic. One that could allow me to... combat time. There is something to the magic of cutie marks. There has to be a reason why normal unicorn magic can't make a cutie mark appear before its time. Some vital piece of information that we don't yet understand. If I can tap into the magic of cutie marks... of powerful mortal ponies like the Pillars-"

"Don't drag your friends into this nonsense!" Celestia said.

"The Pillars," he said with emphasis, eschewing the word 'friends' "they could be the key to making this work! By combining their strengths, their talents, the magic in their cutie marks, I could use that power! I could be able to ascend!" Celestia put her hoof on his.

"Starswirl, you need to stop this!" Celestia said. "Many a mage have gone mad, or worse, treading this path you are on."

"I know. I've read their works," he said motioning to the names on the books. "Standing on the shoulders of giants."

"Taking the magic of others... there was another who thought like that," Celestia said. Starswirl glared at her.

"Do NOT compare me to him! I am nothing like Tirek. He was a monster. Even his own brother, Scorpan could see that! I am not stealing anypony's magic." He looked over the spell he was working on. "Just... borrowing it. They'll get it back just as soon as-"

"As soon as you're an alicorn?" she asked.

"That has always been the goal. Hasn't it? An alicorn stallion for you to have as your suitor?" he asked. Celestia looked over his shoulder at the spell.

"It was never about time, was it?" Celestia asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's not fair..." Starswirl repeated. "It should be me. I should at least have a chance! I-" Starswirl felt himself choking up.

"What would your sister say?" Celestia asked.

"She wouldn't say anything. My sister has been dead for years and I'm not a necromancer. All I know is that I loved you," he said.

"And you already know how my sister feels about that," Celestia said.

"She still hasn't let that go?" he asked.

"You know her," Celestia said. "Luna is not one to part with a grudge easily. Particularly when it comes to her sister stealing away her special somepony."

"You didn't steal me away," he said. "She simply had an academic difference of opinion regarding our... program."

"Oh, you mean the one where I breed you and your pegasus sister?" Celestia sarcassed. "And breed your descendants until one of your unicorn colts comes with a pair of wings? Yes. I recall she was quite vocal about her 'academic difference of opinion' on the matter."

"Ancient history," Starswirl breathed. He walked over to another table where a large tome laid. He flipped through the pages to the beginning branches of a family tree. There was still a blank spot at the top where his name was supposed to be, beside his sister's. He still wavered on whether or not he wanted his name attached to this project. He had experimented with inbreeding with the short life spans and high reproduction rates of mice. He knew what would happen soon.

"She was right to be upset," Starswirl said, looking over his notes. "It will get worse before it gets better. Offspring born blind. Stillborn." He poured himself a glass of wine. "My... grandson just got his cutie mark... I imagine you'll be reintroducing him to his sister in a few years time."

"Just as we planned," Celestia said, noticing that the sun began to rise outside. "It's a little early to start drinking wine."

"Who stops?" he said, finishing the glass. He read over his latest spell again.

From one to another,
another to one.
A mark of you're destiny,
singled out alone fulfilled.

"You're terrible at writing spells when you're drunk," Celestia said. "That doesn't even rhyme."

"I'm not drunk," Starswirl defended. "I'm so close." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Not to being drunk, but to figuring out this spell. I could prevent so much heartache. So much pain... and deceit. I could become an alicorn! I know I can! But it's... just beyond my grasp. Soon. I'll figure it out soon, and then... and then you and I..." he yawned.

"You need to get some rest. You can't be pulling these all-nighters anymore. You're-"

"Too old!?" Starswirl snapped. "Well soon it will no longer matter."

"Okay, okay," Celestia humored him. "But not right now. Please get some sleep."

"Well if you're inviting me..." he said with a coy smile.

"You know that I'm not," she said firmly. Starswirl's smile vanished.

"But if I were an alicorn?"

"Star-"

"Does that big, royal bed of yours not get lonesome, Tia?" he asked. "Even my own, modest bed feels far too large without another pony beside me."

"..."

"..."

"I think you are drunk," Celestia said. "Get some sleep. There will be time later."

"No time for rest," Starswirl said. "But then I shouldn't expect somepony like you to understand the concept of having a finite amount of time!" he growled as he looked through the mess on his desk for his journal concerning the Pillars. "Now where is that damn journal!?" The door to Starswirl's study opened. It was the earth pony, Rockhoof, one of the other Pillars.

"Starswirl!" he said in his thick, regional accent. "Stygian has taken my shovel and the other Pillars' items! Do ya still have your magic book?"

"He must have taken my journal some time yesterday!" Starswirl fumed. He closed the book with his ascension spell and readied himself to leave. "Go! Gather the others! We must confront him at once!" Rockhoof turned and ran to do just that. Starswirl looked at Celestia again.

"Stygian is a gifted mage. If I'm this close to learning the power of the Pillars' magic, he may be as well. And he may be less than gracious in 'borrowing' our magic without the intent to return it!"

"Do you really think he would do that?" Celestia asked. "He's the one that gathered you all together as a force for good."

"I do. I have always sensed an air of envy in him," Starswirl said.

"He envies your friendship!" Celestia said. "If you would be but more inclusive-"

"Friendship is fleeting!" Starswirl spat. "I wouldn't expect you to understand the machinations of a mortal mind. He's a pony with power. And he desires what all ponies with power want; more power." Her grabbed his cloak and reached for the door.

"Starswirl!" Celestia called out. He paused and looked back at her. She walked closer to him. He waited, hoping beyond all hope for a kiss for- "Good luck," she said. No kiss came. He was not lucky enough for that. Starswirl huffed.

"In my experience, there is no such thing as luck." He left and shut the door behind him. Celestia looked back at his desk, running her hoof along the edge of his ascension spell book's bindings.

"...Only the intersection where hard work and opportunity meet," she said, finishing the saying.

Spike was relaxing in his bubble bath when there came a knock at the bathroom door.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Spike, are you done in there?" Twilight asked. "If you're not out of that bath soon I'm just going to come in there and pee in the tub." Twilight huffed and trotted back downstairs in the Golden Oaks Library.

"Don't threaten me with a good time," Spike muttered under his breath.

There was a knock at the front door. Twilight opened it. "Special delivery from Princess Celestia," the mail pony said. Twilight accepted the package and opened it. It was a very old book, with a letter attached.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

The spell contained on the last page of this book is Starswirl the Bearded's secret, unfinished masterpiece. He was never able to get it right, and thus, abandoned it. I believe you are the only pony who can understand and re-write it.

- Princess Celestia

"Ooh." Twilight opened the book and flipped to the last page.

From one to another,
another to one.
A mark of you're destiny,
singled out alone fulfilled.

"That doesn't make sense. It doesn't even rhyme," she said. She heard Spike getting out of the bathroom and set the book down. It was a puzzle that could wait until morning.

"Do you think that she'll figure it out?" Princess Luna asked her older sister.

"I think so," Princess Celestia said. "She's a clever filly. I'm confident that she'll work it out."

"I'm surprised you didn't ascend her the way you did Cadance," Luna said.

"Who says I didn't try?" Celestia asked. "You were there. You watched me put that same piece of the Crystal Empire in Twilight's hooves. But she already had her cutie mark, the mark of the Tree of Harmony, and her connection to the Elements. Cadance, on the other hoof, was still a blank flank pegasus. As soon as she touched the shard she got her cutie mark and... well, I was just as surprised as anypony would be when I saw her horn sprout from her forehead."

"The Crystal Princess," Luna said dramatically.

"A portent of things to come," Celestia replied.

"You really think his spell will be the key for Twilight?" Luna asked.

"If she can channel the inherent magic bound up in her friends' cutie marks into herself..."

"Or the Elements themselves," Luna suggested.

"Possibly. In either case, it should be enough to give her the magical nudge she needs to ascend."

"You mean for you to give her the genetic nudge she needs to ascend," Luna corrected.

"But the magic has to be from within her."

"If his spell works." Luna said.

"It will. He knew he was onto something," Celestia said.

"Yes. My sister," Luna quipped.

"Luna,"

"And his sister," she continued.

"Are we going to fight about this again now?" Celestia asked. Luna looked at her and sighed. Just remembering the old conflict tired her.

"... No. You just seem so confident that his spell will work, even though it never did before."

"It was never going to work for him. He was nowhere near enough an alicorn. If I were to try such a modification on him, I would have been just as likely to turn him into a frog."

"Better than nothing," Luna muttered.

"You know I had nothing to do with their disappearance," Celestia said. Luna said nothing and moved to look into the telescope on their balcony again.

"The library is dark. I imagine she must have gone to bed," Luna said.

"I suppose I should do the same," Celestia said. "Let me know if anything happens." She turned to leave.

"Tia," Luna said, pausing Celestia's departure. "I'm... sorry. I guess it's still a sore subject for me. But as you're so fond of saying, time heals all wounds." Celestia just stood there for a moment.

"No. Not all of them," Celestia sighed. Luna walked over to her and gave her a kiss goodnight.

The next morning found Twilight's Ponyville friends sporting each others' cutie marks and feebly attempting each others' vocations. Rarity was messing with the weather. Rainbow Dash was squatting in Fluttershy's cottage. Fluttershy, meanwhile was at Sugarcube Corner.

"Twilight, please get rid of her," Carrot Cake said. "She doesn't know how to bake and she's ruining our business with her terrible comedy act."

"I never in my life thought I would say this," Cup Cake said, "but we miss Pinkie Pie."

Twilight and Spike went to Sweet Apple acres.

"Twilight, I'm scared," Applebloom said. "Pinkie has my sister's cutie mark and keeps calling me her sister."

"I know she ain't my sister!" Big Mac said. "That isn't the sister I love!" Twilight and Spike looked at him. Big Mac turned a darker shade of red. "AS as sister!"

"Well, by process of elimination..." Twilight said as she and Spike made haste to find Applejack at the Carousel Boutique.

The horror.

The horror.

Twilight and Spike ran just as fast as they could from that nightmare.

"There's not enough alcohol and therapy in the world that's going to let me un-see Applejack trying to make dresses!" Spike cried.

"This is bad. This is very, very bad," Twilight said.

"What's going on? Why is this happening?" Spike asked.

"Last night, while you were taking one of your seven-hour bubble baths, I got a special delivery from the princess!"

"Princess Luna?" Spike asked.

"No."

"Princess Cadance?"

"No! Princess Celestia!"

"Okay, well, I'm just saying, there are three of them. So when ponies say THE princess, referring to Celestia, it's a little presumptuous."

"You can kiss Luna's dappled ass later, Spike. We have bigger problems right now. I cast the spell she sent me to find out what it was." Spike raised his eyebrow.

"Is that how you check if something is poisonous too?" he asked. "By eating it?" She ignored him.

"But nothing seemed to happen. But something did happen! The spell has changed the Elements of Harmony!" she said, motioning towards the glass case with the Elements inside. The Elements had changed colors and their associations with each bearer. "That must be why their cutie marks are all wrong!"

"So just cast a counter-spell to switch them back!" Spike suggested.

"There is no counter-spell!" Twilight said, double-checking the book.

"So again, just to be clear, you knew there wasn't a counter-spell and you still just cast it!?"

"Spike!"

"Why don't you just use that memory spell you used to fix everypony when Discord was here?"

"It's not their memories, Spike. It's their true selves that have been altered."

"Well, maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe our friends will grow to like their new lives."

"No, Spike. They're not who they are meant to be anymore. Their destinies are now changed. And it's all my fault."

"Well I think THE princess is partially to blame too for sending the spell to you."

"She trusted me!" Twilight said.

"And considering your track record with this sort of stuff, one really has to question her judgement."

"Spike!"

"Okay, what about Zecora's cure for the cutie pox?"

"That won't work either." Twilight turned to go upstairs.

"Wait! Cast the spell again!" Spike said.

"What? Spike, if you're just going to make stupid suggestions, then just leave me alone!"

"I mean it! Cast the spell again! If it changed the Elements, it can change them again! It can change them back!" he said.

"Spike, that is..." Twilight stopped and seriously thought about it for a second. "That just might be stupid enough to work!" she squealed. "And even if it doesn't, it can't make things any worse."

Spike shuddered at the memory of Applejack trying to make dresses. "No," he agreed. "It' can't."

"Come on," Twilight said. "Let's go gather up the others and bring them back here!"

Prince Shining Armor sat in the waiting room at the doctor's office. The ticking of the wall clock seemed overbearingly loud in the relative silence of the room. He shuffled through the magazines on the table to try to find something to distract himself from the noise of the clock. And his thoughts. The events of the last few days replayed in his head.

~

"Shining, I don't understand what the problem is," Cadance said.

"Well I don't either," he said. "I've just been tired."

"Shining, I get that you were tired after the wedding. I get that you were tired during the honeymoon tour. I get that you were tired after dealing with Sombra, and stressed out from moving to the Crystal Empire, and then the Equestrian Games inspector. But we've been here for two weeks now, and I cleared your schedule for the last three days in a row. You're making me run out of possibilities."

"..."

"... Is it me?" Cadance asked nervously.

"No!" Shining answered immediately.

"What is it then?" Cadance asked.

"..."

"Shining, please! Talk to me!" Cadance begged.

"Look... I don't know why I... can't. I want to. I want you! You are beautiful and sexy, and... Cadance, I love you!"

"I love you too. But, well... maybe you should see a doctor about it," Cadance suggested.

"What?"

"Please? For me? So I can stop worrying at least?" she begged.

"Okay, okay."

~

"Good morning Your High-" the doctor greeted.

"Shining, please. Titles make my fur crawl."

"Alright then. What brings you in today?" she asked.

"I'm... fine," he said. She just stared at him for a moment and blinked.

"... Well this was a short appointment!" she said, slapping her pen down on her clipboard. "I think I'll take an extra-long lunch."

"Wait! I mean, I do have a problem, but it's not an emergency," he said.

"Yeah. I figured that. We have a whole room for emergencies. We call it the emergency room. Catchy name, I know. And since you're here, and not there..."

"I have a problem... down there."

"Oh no! Not your hooves!" she teased.

"No, I mean-" he huffed "It's embarrassing."

"Look, I actually do want that long lunch. So what is it, do you have a carrot stuck in your butt?"

"I- what!? NO! Wait, does that actually happen!?" he asked. She nodded.

"Oh yes, I've seen it all. I assure you, you're not going to shock me. So what did you get stuck in there?"

"It's- it's not my butt! It's my di- my penis," he said, trying to use the proper word to make it sound less embarrassing. But once he heard himself say it, it had the opposite effect. "Sometimes I can't... it doesn't..."

"Do you have trouble getting an erection? Ejaculating?" she asked as bluntly as she could.

"...Yes."

"Okay. Well, you're a little young, but it happens. When was the last time you had an erection?" she asked.

"This morning and... well, every morning, really," he said. She made a note.

"Well, what I mean is more from stimulation. Either physically, visually or thinking about something arousing." He remembered when the Games Inspector was visiting. When he was coaching the crystal ponies were stretching...

"Last week," he said. She made a note.

"And when was the last time you ejaculated?"

"The same time," he said trying to keep his answers simple and his mind from wandering.

"Now was this by masturbation or intercourse?" she asked. He tried not to remember the look of his white and blue mottled penis sliding in and out of his little sister's perfect little purple pussy.

"Intercourse," he said. He really tried not to think about it. But the more he tried, the harder it got.

Literally.

"Oh," she said as he got hard sitting in front of her on the exam table.

"Sorry! Sorrysorrysorry!" he blushed and covered himself.

"It's okay. It isn't the first time this has happened. Let me just update this note about 'most recent erection'." She made some more notes and put on her exam gloves. "Alright, let's have a look."

"..."

"Move your hooves, please?" she said. He did as he was told and put his hooves to his sides. She looked him over, keeping it brief and clinical. "Well from what I can tell, everything seems normal for a stallion of your age and... *ahem* the lucky princess."

"Not exactly," he said.

"So what exactly is the nature of the problem?"

"I'm fine. It's fine. I just can't... with her. It's been weeks since we've done it."

"Weeks? Plural?" the doctor asked. He nodded. "But you said you had intercourse last week." Shining Armor's fur somehow turned whiter as his eyes shrank to pinpricks.

"Fuck!" he panicked. "No. I mean, yes, but uh, I uh-!" She put her hoof up to stop him.

"Sir, I am under oath that nothing discussed here leaves this room. My only concern is how you are doing, not with whom." Shining started to cry. She started filling out two slips. She gave them to him. He couldn't read them through his blurry vision.

"What... are these?" he asked.

"One of those is a prescription for Neighagra that you likely don't need. The other is a referral."

"A referral?" he asked.

"For an analyst," she said.

"I told you I don't have a problem with my butt," he said.

She chuckled.

"A psychoanalyst, Mr. Armor. A therapist. I suspect that your problem is psychological in nature. But this is where my job ends and hers begins. If you really believe that you have a physical dysfunction then you can take the Neighagra and I'm confident that it will work. But if you think that it could be something else... then go see her."

"Thank you... doctor."

Shining stopped by the pharmacy and nervously gave them the prescription slip. The pharmacist barely looked at him. He barely looked at the slip. He looked like he was barely awake. He moved on autopilot as he filled the prescription and gave it Shining in an unassuming brown paper bag. He left and headed back to the castle.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight read aloud to her friends in her library home. The color of the Elements that they were wearing, and their cutie marks, shuffled around.

"Twilight, darling, is this really necessary?" Rarity asked. "I have a town that I need to make smile."

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight read aloud again. The Elements' colors and their cutie marks shuffled around again.

"And I need to harvest my apples," Fluttershy said.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight repeated. More shuffling.

"And I have animals that I need to feed..." Pinkie Pie said, "to other animals."

"Oh no," Spike cried in terror.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone fulfilled," Twilight repeated, growing frustrated.

"I have clothes that I need to make twenty percent cooler!" Rainbow Dash said.

"OH NO!" Spike cried louder.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're destiny singled out alone FULFILLED!" Twilight yelled.

"And I need to buck clouds..." Applejack said. "But I have no damn clue how I'm going to do it."

"Why isn't it working?" Spike asked.

"The princess-"

"Celestia," Spike interrupted.

"Would you drop it!?" Twilight snapped. "Princess Celestia said that Starswirl was never able to get the spell right and he abandoned it. So there must be something missing," Twilight said as she looked over the spell again. "Or something wrong with the spell... itself..." Twilight trailed off as she stared at the spell. She blinked. And then she blinked again. She looked at it as though she were just seeing it for the first time. The color drained from her face.

"No..." Twilight breathed. "It can't be! Not Starswirl!" She read it again and again, hearing the words in her mind. But she still couldn't believe it. It had been right in front of her the entire time. But she had been blind to the solution. It was so obvious that it hurt. "Not Starswirl!" she yelled through angry tears.

"What!? What is it!?" Spike asked.

"I understand now. I know how to fix the spell!" Twilight said.

"You don't look too happy about it," Spike said as she grabbed her quill and ink.

"He was my hero, Spike," Twilight said as she fixed the spell. "There is no joy in this for me." With the correction made, she read the spell one last time. The Elements and cutie marks were restored to their proper places.

And then each of her friends' Elements fired a beam of magic at her.

In a flash of blinding-white light, Twilight disappeared.

"Hello?" Twilight's voice echoed into the endless void of the pocket universe. "Where am I? What is this place?"

"Those aren't the questions you should be asking," a disembodied voice answered back. Her eyes strained to focus in the nothingness of it until a pale, blurry figure shimmered into existence. As it moved towards her she watched it take the shape of a pony. Princess Celestia.

"Congratulations Twilight. I knew you could do it," Celestia said.

"Princess! I don't understand. What did I do?"

"You did something today that's never been done before. Something even a great unicorn like Starswirl the Bearded was not able to do. Because he did not understand friendship like you do. The lessons you have learned here in Ponyville have taught you well."

"Here in Ponyville?" Twilight asked, looking around them. "But we're not in Ponyville."

"Yes. We are. It's just an inch away from your face," Celestia said. "You've created a pocket dimension. When I felt it happen, I came to join you in it."

"A pocket dimension? Like where you keep your Bonsai tree? But I thought only Alicorn magic could do that," Twilight said. Celestia could only smile.

"That's true," Celestia said, her smile only growing wider. "You've created new magic, Twilight. A means of channeling the magic in cutie marks, and the Elements of Harmony themselves. The very magic of friendship, itself."

"But I just thought that was a cheesy expression," Twilight said.

"Perhaps it was, once. But not any longer. The figurative magic of friendship has been made as real and tangible as any other... by you. You have proven that you're ready."

"Ready? Ready for what?" Twilight asked. Twilight's horn did not glow. But the magic appeared all the same from within her. The raw magic of the Elements and in cutie marks, shaped by the power of friendship, and guided by Celestia. The magic surrounded and permeated the body of the unicorn, giving a billion tiny pushes to the genetic coding in each of her cells.

"To fulfill your destiny!"

"Okay, okay. We need to get our story straight," Rainbow Dash said as she and the others put the Elements back in the glass case. "We sneak out of here, go home, and never speak about this again. We were never here!"

"Surely you can't be serious!" Applejack said.

"I am serious," Dash said. "And don't call me Shirley. I'm on probation! I already have two strikes. And Fluttershy can't go to jail! They'll rape her! They'll rape her good!"

"Oh... my," Fluttershy squeaked.

"But everypony saw us come here today!" Pinkie said.

"We can say it happened some time in the night," Rarity said, also not wanting to wear a gaudy prison uniform. The five of them walked outside into the dark town. It was quiet, and most ponies were asleep. "All we have to do is sneak out of here without drawing any attention."

A bright flash of purple light in the sky was followed by a booming report, waking everyone in the town. A giant image of Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark appeared in the sky and moved down towards them, drawing an enormous amount of attention to the five ponies. The cutie mark dissolved into a blinding white light. The shape of a pony emerged.

"Twilight? Is that you?" Applejack asked. The light slowly faded, revealing the pony returned. Twilight spread her wings.

"She's an angel now!" Fluttershy said.

"Oh shit! Her ghost did not waste any time in haunting us!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm not dead!" Twilight said.

"Darling, you've become an alicorn!" Rarity said. "I didn't even know that was possible."

"Alicorn party!" Pinkie Pie cheered, swinging in from the top of the TV screen.

"Wow. You look just like the princess!" Fluttershy said.

"A princess," Spike said, "She looks like A princess."

"That's because she is A princess," Celestia said, drifting down to the ground.

"A princess!?" Twilight gasped. Celestia put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Since you've come to Ponyville, you've displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and of course the leadership of a true princess," Celestia said.

"But does this mean I won't be your student anymore?"

"Not in the same way as before," Celestia said. "I'll still be here to help an guide you. But we're all your students now too. You are an inspiration to us all, Twilight." Celestia bowed to Twilight. The other ponies followed suit.

"But... what do I do now?" Twilight asked. "Is there a book about being a princess I should read?" Celestia couldn't help but chuckle.

"There will be time for all of that later," she assured her. "But for now... there is much to be done."

"Fuck. Fuck!" Shining Armor cursed as he struggled to deal with his erection in his Canterlot Castle guest suite. But he was accustomed to dealing with the unexpected.

When he had gotten home from the doctor's appointment the previous evening, he didn't expect Cadance to have packed his bag for him. He didn't expect them to have been urgently summoned to Canterlot. He didn't expect them to be on the very next overnight train. He didn't expect it to be a super-formal wear coronation, of his sister, no less. But he promised himself that the moment he saw her, he would tell her how proud he was of her.

He didn't expect himself to have left his prescription in his saddlebag. Despite all that, he was never one to waste an opportunity. While Cadance was in the shower, he took one of the Neighagra pills. He'd have quite the surprise for her once he snuck into the shower with her.

But there came a frantic knock at the suite's door. He opened it.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, my Prince," the messenger pony said. "Princess Celestia has asked to see Cadance as soon as possible to have her ceremonial dress fitted."

"I'll be right there!" Cadance called from the bathroom, quickly drying her mane and fur. A few moments later she was on her way out the door. "Shouldn't take more than an hour or two," she assured Shining, kissing him before she closed the door and left him alone. That was when the pill started to kick in.

~

"Fuck," Shining cursed at his raging boner. He looked at the clock. Shouldn't take more than an hour or two, she had said. By then he'd have to be getting dressed as well. And by the feel of it, his stiffy wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He realized he would have to deal with it himself. "Fuck!"

Shining walked into the bathroom and reared up to lean over the toilet. He wrapped his hoof around his shaft and started jerking himself off as quickly as he could. He closed his eyes and tried to think about Cadance. He tried to think about the sexiest thing possible. The two did not overlap. He looked at himself in the mirror, jerking off in the bathroom in secret like some disgusting colt. "Fuck it." He allowed himself to think about Twilight. He let himself revel in the fantasy. He could feel himself getting close. He felt his balls tighten. His cock began to flare as he imagined himself on top of her, fucking her while she moaned out his name.

"Shiny!?"

Shining's eyes snapped open and he turned to look at the bathroom doorway. As he did, his body turned with him, and along with that, the aim of his trajectory.

"Twilie!?!" he cried out in equal parts moan and surprise. It was all the warning she got before the first massive blast of sperm rocketed from his cock, hitting her squarely in the horn, and everything around it. They were both frozen in shock as the second load splashed across her cheek.

"SHINING!" she shrieked, shielding her face with her hoof. He quickly directed the rest of his prodigious load to the toilet.

But he had rehearsed telling her how proud he was so many times for when he first saw her. He tried to say "I'm proud of you."

"Did you really just jizz on my face!?" she asked, scarcely able to believe what the fuck did just happen. His mind registered a question being asked.

"Of course not! It's- it's liquid pride! Totally different thing," he said.

"Aww, well then it's okay, big brother."

"... Really!?"

"NO! Fix it! Fix it fix it FIX IT!" she screamed. He tried to wipe it off her, but it was everywhere. In her fur, in her mane. The paltry sink basin was not up to the task. "I need a shower. Now! And so do you!" She said as she got into the shower. She was right. A lot of it had gotten into his fur as well. If it dried it would discolor and get crusty. He would need time for his mane to dry too. Time that he wouldn't have if he waited. He got into the shower with her. "You can help scrub my back while you're in here," she said, getting the last of his baby batter out of her mane. She passed him the soap.

"So... wings huh?" he said as he carefully washed her, well practiced with cleaning Cadance's wings.

"Yup," she said back, unsure of what else to say in the current situation. The panic of protein stains in her fur had passed.

"Wait, why are you even here?" he asked.

"I saw Cadance, and she sent me to tell you her fitting was going to take a little longer than she said. And I wanted to see you before the ceremony anyway. But I didn't think you'd be..." she trailed off and looked back at him. Shining looked down at himself. Even after just cumming, the effects of the pill were still coursing through him.

"This erection still isn't going anywhere," he said in frustration. He looked up at her, catching her eyes looking back at him and his problem. She smirked and wiggled her hips.

"Oh, I think we both know exactly where it's going," she said. Between her eyes and her hips, she gave him the double barrels of persuasion. And in that moment, another hoof-full of guilt added to his existing mountain mattered little.

After a thorough 'cleaning', they each dried themselves off and Twilight left to go get into her ceremonial dress and get ready to be in position for her big arrival. Shining also got dressed and headed out to the ceremonial hall to be among the VIP spectators and join back up with Cadance as soon as the ceremony was over. And it was a beautiful ceremony.

"We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentous occasion," Celestia began. "My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, has done many extraordinary thing since she's lived in Ponyville. She even helped to reunite me with my sister, Princess Luna. But today, Twilight did something extraordinary. She created new magic. Proving without a doubt that she is ready to be crowned as Equestria's newest princess. Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Princess Twilight Sparkle made her grand entrance and walked up to the stage to stand before the attendees. Twilight's parents were among them. Her father beamed with pride and mother dried her tears of joy. Twilight walked with the other princesses out onto the castle balcony to the cheers of the city crowds below.

"Say something," Celestia said.

"A little while ago, my teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia, sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship, which is something I didn't really care much about. But now, on a day like today, I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for the friendships that I've made with all of you. Each one of you taught me something about friendship. And for that, I will always be grateful. Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you, everypony!"

While Twilight Sparkle made her speech, Princess Celestia turned her gaze to another 'Twilight', catching the attention of Velvet in the audience. The 'we need to talk' expression on both of their faces was clear. But it could wait until later. Today was Princess Sparkle's day.

"Twilight," Celestia said. "Oh, I mean, Princess Twilight," she said, making her student blush. "I really am so proud of you," she said with a smile. "But I'm quite curious as to how it was you managed to solve Starswirl's spell." Twilight focused her magic. It came more easily to her after her ascension. She teleported the book from her distant library with relative ease. She opened it and showed it to Princess Celestia. She read over the spell. Her alabaster face turned a whiter shade of pale in abject disbelief. Her smile vanished.

From one to another, another to one. A mark of you're your destiny singled out alone fulfilled.