Reversing the effects of the creature that had possessed Spike—the Servant, Pinkie called it—had done to Applejack and Fluttershy had actually been the easy part, just as Rarity said.

I wasn't sure whether the Servant had truly erased their memories or not, but with some carefully worded commands in what was apparently known as the Black Tongue, I was able to rouse them from their mindless states, and judging by their reactions, it seemed they had retained some kind of knowledge of what had happened to them.

Thankfully it seemed the only ponies in the room who remembered Belzot Magh's rampage were Rarity and Pinkie. I wanted to be candid with the mares, but that was something I wholeheartedly believe they weren't ready to hear about, not yet.

Understandably, the two innocent mares had not responded well to recent events. Applejack was as livid as she was scared, and poor Fluttershy was far beyond distraught, sobbing heavily into Applejack's coat and refusing to look anypony else in the eye. Both were incredibly confused, and my heart went out to the two, but I promised myself I'd tell them what I could.

Pinkie had replaced the 'special' cake with one of her more palatable creations, and was trying to comfort an uncharacteristically silent and miserable Rainbow Dash over at the table. Rarity stood by me as I attempted to calm Applejack and Fluttershy enough so that we could have a civil discussion.

Spike, who I'd woken up only moments ago, stood off to the side trying to make sense of it all. I could see him casting furtive glances in my direction, and though he wasn't scared like the crying and raging mares before me, he still looked extremely worried.

I knew this wasn't going to go smoothly, but it seemed I wouldn't be able to get anything productive done any time soon, and if my suspicions about what might happen tonight were correct, time was something we didn't have a lot of at this point.

As I was lamenting the fact that I might have to once more resort to mind control to get results, Applejack spoke up, her voice suddenly calm, yet as cold as the Frozen North.

"What are ya, really?" she asked in a low, clipped tone, "ah may not understand a lick o' what's goin' on here, but ah know what ah saw, an' ah know what ah heard," she jabbed a hoof in Spike's direction, the drake flinching back in response as though struck, "that little dragon friend o' yers said some mighty strange an' incriminatin' things, mah Goddess."

I winced and averted my eyes at the bite she put into the title, unable to argue. I chanced a glance at Spike and saw the drake shift uncomfortably, a deeply troubled look on his face. He turned back to me, and I could see the multitude of questions burning in his eyes, yet for some reason he chose not to voice them.

I opened my mouth to say something, but decided against it and instead looked at the yellow pegasus Applejack protectively held against her. She had stopped crying, and was now looking not at me, but over to where Rainbow Dash was sitting with Pinkie Pie.

Her expression seemed to be some odd mix of fear and pity. To me, she looked terribly conflicted, as though she didn't know whether to console Dash or run screaming from her. Applejack followed her gaze, her frown deepening and her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"An' then there's you," she spat venomously, addressing the despairing cyan mare directly, "ah may not have been in mah right mind before, but ah still remember what happened to you. Ah still remember that... that... abomination ya'll transformed into."

If Rainbow Dash heard Applejack, she gave no indication as she continued to somberly stare at some point in the distance. Pinkie glared at the earth pony, intending to say something, but a quick glance and a subtle shake of the head from Rarity convinced her to keep her mouth shut. Satisfied, the white mare turned back to address Applejack.

"Applejack... darling, please," Rarity pleaded, taking a step forward, "I know this is a lot to take in, but you must understand. Many of us are just as lost as you and Fluttershy. We're all seeking answers to this madness, the same as you."

"Then start talkin', Miss Goddess," Applejack retorted, directing her vicious glare back to me, "ya'll seem ta be the mastermind behind it all, so speak up! What in Celestia's name is goin' on around here!"

She punctuated the last question with a furious stomp of her hoof. I went to reply, seeing my chance to finally reach some sort of understanding where we could all discuss the situation calmly and rationally, but it was Fluttershy that spoke first.

"Um... A-Applejack?" she began in a strained, near whisper. Her eyes still hadn't left Rainbow Dash as she spoke, "I... I think we should calm down... and listen to what Twilight and the others have to say."

Applejack sputtered in surprise and indignation at Fluttershy's suggestion. She turned to glower at me and Rarity, then at Pinkie and Rainbow. Her face relaxed somewhat as she turned back to Fluttershy and saw her scared, but pleading expression as she looked back.

A brief moment of indecision passed over her features, and another moment later, she gave a long, suffering sigh. She took a second to collect herself, visibly trying to rein in her own fear and suspicious anger, before grimacing at me.

"Alright, we'll talk like civil ponies oughta, even though none o' ya'll seem ta be ponies at all," she snorted and let go of Fluttershy before stomping off towards the table, "ah don't like it, but ah trust Fluttershy at the very least," she fell into the seat farthest from Rainbow and Pinkie, "if she's willin' ta give ya'll a chance, then ah'll follow along... fer now."

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief before turning and giving Fluttershy a grateful smile.

"Thank you for hearing me out, Fluttershy," I said earnestly, "I may not know everything, but Pinkie, Rarity, and I will do our best to explain what we can."

Fluttershy didn't meet my gaze, opting instead to silently stare at her own hooves. She stood that way for a long moment before finally speaking up, her voice quiet, yet strangely resolute.

"I'm not sure what's going on... and I have a feeling that whatever this is, is only going to get worse," she raised her head and gave me a small, weak smile, "but I'm sure... I'm sure you didn't mean for any of this to happen, Twilight."

With that, she followed after Applejack and, after a moment's hesitation, chose to sit next to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. That just left Rarity, Spike and myself. I turned to Rarity, intending to tell her to give me and Spike some space, but she seemed to get the message through our strange link and nodded before making her own way over to the table.

I watched her go a moment before trotting over to where Spike stood near the slightly spiraling stairway.

"Hey," I greeted quietly.

"...Hey," he replied, looking down at his feet and speaking just as quietly.

For a long moment we stood there in an awkward silence, and even though I was a good distance away, I could feel the accusing stare of Applejack on my back. I struggled to find the words to convey the situation and how sorry I was that any of this was happening, but had trouble voicing the words. Still, I needed to say something, so I took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Look... Spike, I—"

"Twilight, I know less than anypony about what's going on here," he interjected, looking up at me, "as far as I do know, I suddenly fell asleep while I was talking to Rarity, and I only just now woke up to all of this."

He gesture towards the table and I followed his gaze to the others. His next words caught and held my attention.

"Now I'm hearing things about you being some kind of monster in disguise," he raised his claws and stared at them as he spoke, "and apparently I was possessed by something while I was asleep, but I don't remember any of it," he lowered his claws and looked back up at me with an expression full of helplessness and confusion, "I don't know what to make of any of this, Twilight."

"I know, Spike... I know," I replied, pulling him into a hug. I winced as I felt him shudder at my touch, "it's like Fluttershy said... I didn't mean for any of this to happen, but it did," I pulled back, placing my hooves on his shoulders and lowering myself enough to look the drake in the eye, "I've been trying to understand it all myself, and somewhere along the way, things got out of control, but I'm gonna try to make it right."

"How?" Spike asked, shrugging my hooves aside and giving me the same suspicious glare Applejack had, "you've been acting weird since this morning, and I'm beginning to wonder if you haven't been replaced by some... some alien or something. How do I know you're even the real Twilight?"

"Spike..." I grimaced at how close Spike had come to the truth, "it's me... I swear it is, but there's something else. You were possessed by something while you were asleep, and... something similar happened to me," I took a step back and raised a hoof to my chest, "I'm still Twilight Sparkle, but like you were, I've... been possessed by something, only it's still in here with me."

Though I'm pretty sure it's a bit more complicated than that, I think.

Spike bit his lower lip, looking me over with worried and contemplative eyes. He didn't reply for a long moment, and I was beginning to wonder if my explanation had been sufficient enough. After a long, torturous moment of indecision, Spike clench his claws and gave a determined scowl.

"Alright, Twilight... I... I'll believe you," he finally replied, putting as much conviction as he could into his words, "if... if everything you're saying is true... then I'll do what I can to help you get back to normal."

At hearing his words, it felt like a great weight I hadn't even known was there had been lifted from my shoulders. I smiled and pulled him into another hug, immensely grateful for his support, and doubly touched that it had been of his own will and not because I'd done something to him.

"Thank you, Spike," I whispered, "I... you have no idea how much it means to hear you say that right now."

"O-Of course!" Spike exclaimed as I set him back down. He tried to hide it, but I could see another visible shudder run through his body as he spoke, "what kind of number one assistant would I be if I didn't stick by you when the going gets rough?"

"Spike, I'd still consider you my number one assistant and my best friend even if you decided to reject me," I replied with a sincere smile. It fell away as I thought about my words and what the near future held, "I won't lie, Spike... things... might end up getting a lot worse before they get better."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, his worried frown returning in full, "what do you thinks gonna happen next?"

"As far as my own situation is concerned, I'm not sure," I replied gravely, "but we may have an entirely different problem to deal with soon, which is why, important as this all is, I want to move this discussion along as quickly as possible."

Spike began to speak, stopped himself and frowned. He shook his head a second later as if to dispel a stray thought and nodded once.

"Alright, then what are we waiting for?" he replied, hurrying past me and towards the table, "the sooner we get this mess fixed, the more time we'll have to see Princess Celestia... oh..." he slowed his walk and turned back to me with a concerned frown, "you haven't told the Princess about any of this, have you?"

"No... I haven't," I replied reluctantly, "but I think she might already know something isn't right," I shook my head and began to follow after Spike, "but we can worry about that later. Right now we have to try and clear things up."

Spike looked like he wanted to say more, but decided against it, and together we made our way back to the table to have what was certain to be a very interesting talk.

Author's Notes:

Fun Fact: In actuality, black tongue is a disgusting, but ultimately harmless and temporary condition in which a massive build up of dead skin cells on the papillae covering the tongue, give it a blackened, hairy appearance.

The more you know!