GoogleDocs link, nothing special this time, but mobile users might want to use it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LUD1hEy3Ojm6P-Xai2--GHcgneKj63ayYrGCsFZqWxQ/edit?hl=en_US

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: This fic is tagged Dark, due to a rather negative atmosphere, but it’s not Grimdark, and never will be. Don’t worry. No bloodshed or unnecessary violence will be had.

“Sister... Do you know what this means?”“It doesn’t mean anything, Luna. It’s just a book.”

“No, it couldn’t. That’s ridiculous, Luna. Magic doesn’t just flow from pony to pony like that, let alone transform their body. Are you trying to tell me that this could happen to Twilight?”

“Yes, I see your point. But this has only ever been recorded happening in negligibly-small amounts.”

“You’re speaking nonsense again. Just drop it, Luna.”

Applejack lay limply on a thick pile of dry hay, her limbs having already betrayed her hours beforehand when she attempted to climb the stairs to her bedroom. She couldn’t bring herself to climb the daunting steps; at that point she could barely stand up, and now she felt too weak to even move. Her eyelids weighed more than several full baskets of freshly-picked apples, her mind in a constant fuzz, but... she couldn’t bring herself to sleep. It was dark inside the barn, but yet, the comfortable arms of Morpheus continued to elude the earth pony. It wasn’t pitch-black; there was a small beam of sunlight streaming through an opening near the roof, but the glow it brought was rather inadequate to see by. All she could do was just lie there and wait. The only choice she had was whether to pay attention to her surroundings or not. The Apple Family barn was well-insulated; the air within was quite cold compared to the searing waves of heat that raked the ground outside, but she felt like she was on fire. Everything burned. She wanted to go to her friends, but she couldn’t move. She yearned to call for help, but she couldn’t speak, either. Her throat felt as dry as sandpaper, and each breath, each swallow, brought a horrible, stabbing pain. It was like swallowing knives, and not in the fancy way those performer ponies did it. The rest of her family had left for an event in Ponyville for the afternoon, something about a pumpkin-throwing contest, and she had volunteered to stay behind to get started on the orchard, so there was no one nearby to tend to her. She thought she could take care of herself. She told her friends that she could. She didn’t know it would get this bad. She took a deep, stinging breath, feeling the beads of sweat from her forehead trickle down to her muzzle, before they dripped off her chin and were absorbed into the dry hay beneath her. She was so hungry... and... and thirsty... Where was the water again?

She summoned all of her dwindling strength, and pushed herself off of the hay stack, unfortunately falling a couple of feet and striking the wooden floor hard with a yelp. She lay still on the barn’s floor for another minute or so, emerald-green eyes wide as she took frantic, painful, shallow breaths before the throbbing pain in her side abated. Catching her breath, she pushed at the floor with all of her might, and shakily rose into a standing position. She couldn’t stand for long... she could already feel her limbs giving out. She blinked a few times in an attempt to sharpen her blurry vision, but didn’t dare take one of her hooves off the ground to wipe them with; she knew she couldn’t support herself at the time with only three legs. She took a few trembling steps, her knees almost buckling with each, and slowly made her way to the doorway leading to her family’s reservoir. Come on.... Come on.... She had only made it halfway across the room when one of her front legs buckled, and her face hit the floor, the rest of her body following suit. Why was this so hard?

Her ears perked, one of the few involuntary actions that carried no difficulty, as she heard the distinct clack of the barn door opening. Discordant creaking followed as the door swung open wide enough for a pony to fit through, and allowed a few sets of hoofsteps to enter. She could hear the hoofsteps of the approaching ponies, but none of them spoke. Applejack turned her head to face the source of the disturbance, momentarily spotting a few pony figures, but quickly shut her eyes tight when the blinding white light of the sun outside began to give her a searing migraine. “Applejack?...” a soft, gentle voice asked.

Fluttershy, upon seeing her orange friend lying on the floor, whimpering and covering her eyes with both hooves, immediately rushed to the farmer pony’s side and laid a butter-yellow hoof across her forehead. She gasped when she felt how hot it was, and immediately darted to the room with the reservoir in it, presumably to fetch some cool water for the sick mare. The other three fillies entered as well, Rainbow Dash closing the barn door behind her with her teeth, cutting off the primary source of light for the room and allowing it to slip into darkness once more.

Now that the blinding light was gone, Applejack removed her hooves from her eyes and stared up at her friends with heavy eyelids, who gazed back with worried expressions.

“Are you feeling alright, dear?” Rarity whispered, fearing that speaking too loudly would give her friend another headache.

Applejack inhaled to speak, but the microscopic daggers slashing at her throat caused her breath to hitch, and she remained silent, wishing for once that the air she breathed was warm instead of cool, so breathing wouldn’t hurt so very much. The air was warm outside the barn, but the ill mare couldn’t survive if she was put out there; she would overheat. A pony’s body will completely shut down if their internal body temperature is raised too high, and the farmer pony knew she was burning up to begin with. Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft flapping of feathery yellow wings as Fluttershy landed next to her, carrying a bucket of water by gripping the handle in her teeth. Applejack reached for it, but Fluttershy had brought a ladle, and had already scooped up some of the life-giving liquid in it.

The yellow pegasus did not speak; her inherent desire to nurse the ill had momentarily dominated her personality, and she remained silent as she held the ladle to Applejack’s lips.

The earth pony drank eagerly, the cold of the water slicing at her raw throat like sharpened steel, but fortunately, it cleared her head enough for her to think clearly.

Twilight stared at the orange pony as she drank, the alicorn’s concern for her friend slowly giving way to the seed of anxiety that had previously sprouted upon her entering the barn. The earth pony seemed to not have noticed her wings yet, but the small delay felt like an eternity to the spellcaster. Rarity gave a warm smile to her purple friend, which eased her somewhat, and she smiled back. Applejack will understand. Applejack always understands.

The farmer pony soon finished her drink, and wiped her mouth with a fuzzy orange hoof. Fluttershy offered another ladle-full, but Applejack politely denied it with a raised hoof and a shake of her head, before turning to face her other three friends. Her solid green eyes, currently a sharp contrast to the pale orange tint of her coat, slowly looked over each of them, coming to a rest on Twilight.

Twilight stood stock-still, trying to keep from trembling with anxiety, her eyebrows turned upwards and her jaw set tight. A bead of sweat emerged from behind her ear and dripped down the side of her cheek as the earth pony stared at her. Applejack’s warm expression shifted to surprise for a moment, before she chuckled to herself, thankfully not having a coughing fit this time.

“Wow... I’m real sick, ain’t I?” she asked, her voice raspy, laughing to herself some more. “I...I could’a sworn Twilight had wings for a second the-......” She blinked, and her happy expression suddenly shattered like porcelain, her eyes opening wide, her irises constricting, and her ears folding flat against her head. Horrified, she began to back up away from the alicorn, pressing her back against a hay bale. Twilight took a few steps forward, but this only caused her friend to panic further.

“Applejack, I... Liste-”

“I... I-I’m sorry, Princess, I-I didn’t mean ta’ disrespect, I didn’t know ya’ll were royalty now! I-I’m sorry I didn’t give ya’ the respect ya’ deserve, b-but I swear I will fr-” the farmer pony broke into a coughing fit in the middle of her rambling, and she collapsed on the floor, her body convulsing with each hack. Fluttershy immediately dashed to her side and tried to help her stop.

Twilight’s jaw hung open slightly. Applejack was... afraid of her? And she thought she was a princess...? No. No, that isn’t correct. She was just a normal pony. Normal. Normal! She shook her head to break out of her stupor, and gave a panicked gaze to the farmer pony, who had only recently stopped coughing. “No! Applejack, I’m not a princess! I-I’m still the same! I just have wings now, i-it doesn’t mean anything! I-” The alicorn’s breath hitched. She felt like she was drowning. Alicorn and earth pony locked eyes for a few impossibly long seconds, fearful green orbs staring directly into panicked, sorrowful purple ones.

“You’re... you’re not?...” Applejack asked, slowly, incredulously, her voice even raspier than before due to being pushed too hard during the earth pony’s rambling. “I... I thought... B-because of the wings...”

“A-Applejack... I-I don’t know what’s happening to me, I really don’t... But I’m still the same...” Twilight blinked a few times, trying to rid her eyes of the awful burning sensation that arises just before tears. She simply stared at her friend for a moment longer, the earth pony’s expression slowly melting from horrified to understanding as she watched a few tears leak from the lavender pony’s eyes. Twilight looked around her; all her friends were simply remaining silent and observing, wearing concerned expressions. Rainbow Dash appeared as if she wanted to say something, but was intentionally keeping quiet.

“... Sugarcube... I... I’m sorry for... for freakin’ out like that...” Applejack apologized, her raspy voice breaking the deafening silence that had gathered after Twilight’s last statement. The farmer pony turned to the yellow pegasus hovering a few paces away from her. “Fluttershy, can I have some more water?” She whispered. The animal tamer fetched another ladle-full from the bucket as Applejack turned to face the winged unicorn again.

“So... With the wings n’ all, I’m just wonderin’... Can ya’ fly?” the southerner asked, smiling curiously, hoping she wasn’t offending. A small chuckle was had by all present, greatly lightening the mood, and leaving Applejack rather befuddled. “...What?”

“Oh nothing dear, it’s just that Fluttershy asked that same question twenty minutes ago,” Rarity snickered. The others nodded calmly.

“Well Applejack, nah, she can’t, but I’m gonna teach her!” Rainbow Dash inputted, puffing her chest out proudly.

Twilight gave an uneasy grin to the pegasus. “Uh huh...” the alicorn mumbled, looking away with worry. She didn’t need to fly; that would just attract attention. But then she remembered that she had already decided; if she was going to walk around with wings on her back, she might as well use them.

“Yeah! I’m gonna make her a master flyer, just like me! Well, not as great as me, but you know.” the blue pegasus elaborated. Everypony else chuckled at the irony. “Speakin’ of that, Twilight, when should we start? There’s this neat little meadow right outs-” Dash’s sentence was interrupted by her having her own coughing fit, which produced the same phlegmy crackling noise that Applejack’s did. Said earth pony shuffled awkwardly.

“Uh... Ya’ll probably shouldn’t stick around the barn fer too long, you might catch whatever it is I’ve got. Looks like it’s already too late for Dash here,” the applebucker teased, grinning at the cyan pegasus, who huffed. After drinking from the ladle Fluttershy was holding next to her face, she continued, “You too, Fluttershy. I really appreciate yer help, but ya’ll don’t need to bring mah sickness to all yer little animals back at yer cottage.”

Fluttershy immediately dropped the ladle from her mouth and looked at Applejack with incredulous realization, before quickly flying to the other side of the room.

Applejack laughed to herself haughtily. “Well uh, thanks for helpin’ with the orchard, guys! I hope ya’ get better, Dash! Ahah hah hah hah!!...” Dash stuck her tongue out at the earth pony, who simply laughed again, as the pegasus opened the barn door and flew out. Everypony else said their goodbyes to Applejack, and exited the barn, before they all cringed and shielded their eyes from the piercing sunlight that mercilessly drilled into their darkness-adjusted corneas.

After their eyes readjusted to the bright sunlight, the group went back to work, plucking apples off the thousands of trees in the orchard and filling woven baskets with them, two hours passing in a haze of work, sweat, and the smell of apples. The sun gradually sank through the sky until it approached the horizon, shifting the color scheme of the landscape to various warm shades of orange. Rainbow Dash became somewhat distracted from her share of the work, fascinated by Twilight’s magical capability as the alicorn pulled hundreds of apples off the trees in great psychokinetic sweeps. The pegasus looked off toward the horizon, biting her lip at the setting sun, before flying to her purple friend and taking a deep breath.

“Hey Twilight? Can you push the sun up a bit so we have a little more time to get this done?” she asked from the air, as innocently as she could.

Twilight blinked a few times, before gaping at the sky-blue pegasus. “That’s not funny, Rainbow!!” the alicorn growled. Dash raised her hooves above her head in mock surrender, shaking her muzzle frantically.

“I-It wasn’t a joke! You... you can, right? Since you’re an alicorn?” the blue pegasus elaborated, shooting a glance at the sun again.

Twilight remained silent, looking at the ground, before going back to her work, leaving her friend without an answer.

The blue filly landed beside her friend and walked to her, earning an anguished glare from the alicorn. “....Well?...Can you?”

Twilight looked up at the sun, then up at her own horn, then at her pegasus friend, before looking away. “... I don’t know...”

“... Well... Can you try? Please? We’re almost done, I-I think we just need another half-hour.” Rainbow Dash kept glancing at the sun, apparently worried about having to work in the darkness of night.

Twilight didn’t speak for a moment. “O-okay...” she submitted. She gazed up at the massive burning orb, which was slowly disappearing behind the distant mountains, speculating how exactly she would fulfill Rainbow’s request. She lowered her head, and focused magic into her horn, surprised at how much power she felt coarsing through her fuzzy lavender body. There was just so much of it. She felt like... like she could do anything! But... the sun... that seemed like it was a little pushing it. But, Rainbow asked... She reached out with her mind’s eye in the general direction of the great firey behemoth, looking for any massive source of energy that would signify its presence. It had to be around there somewhere... somewhere... A-ha! It felt exactly as it looked from her perspective of it from Earth; blazing, enormous, and... heavy. She wrapped her magic around it, the firey beast groaning in protest, before attempting to tug it upwards. Her eyes shut tight as she concentrated; she did not see the multiple glowing auras around her horn, and she did not see the lighting of the landscape brighten from dull oranges to pleasant greens & browns.

“O-Oh Celestia, you’re actually doing it!!” Rainbow shouted from beside her.

The purple alicorn opened one eye, catching a glimpse of Dash’s dropped jaw, before closing it again and resuming her little project. She... she could feel somepony else’s magic working on the sun, autonomously pushing it forward. It was most likely Princess Celestia’s, but it seemed to be on autopilot, unsupervised by the monarch. But nevertheless, it began to crawl curiously toward Twilight’s magic, possibly to identify it, which immediately filled the spellcaster with panic. The lavender pony, realizing the imminent danger, quickly retracted her magic from the sun and brought it back to her own body, gasping as it flooded back into her. Her eyes shot open, and she stood as still as a statue for a moment, before blinking back to reality. She looked around her; the landscape was noticeably brighter and easier to see. The sun no longer hovered behind the mountains, it shined high above them, flooding the landscape with all the light of late-day.

Twilight’s own jaw hung open at the concept of what she had just accomplished. She had moved the sun. Backwards. By at least half an hour, at that! She felt a surge of pride swell up inside her, but it was quickly overtaken by fear as a grim realization trampled her like a horse-drawn carriage. Oh no... Princess Celestia no doubt knew that somepony besides her just did that. And she wouldn’t come to a conclusion that Luna did it; the monarch could just ask her sister, and she would receive a “No”. The lavender-winged unicorn had just cast a fishing line into a lake full of sharks, sharks that were eager to grab her hook and pull her into the water with them.

She suddenly felt Rainbow giving her a quick, grateful hug. “Thanks, Twilight! I knew you could do it! Now we’ll finish before sundown for sure, heh!” she thanked, before releasing the alicorn and flying off to pick more apples. Twilight went back to work as well, but she worked absent-mindedly, worry creeping up her body like icy pins & needles.

The group finished the last of the orchard in roughly thirty minutes, just as Rainbow had predicted, and had regrouped in the clearing that held the Apple Family Barn, all of them sitting in a circle and having a well-deserved rest. It was dusk, again, even though it should be nighttime. None of the alicorn’s other friends seemed to notice that she had moved the sun. Well, not until Rainbow started broaching about it.

“Heh, guys, we wouldn’t have finished before dark if Twilight didn’t move the sun back a little bit! Did you guys see it?! I had no idea she could do that!” the pegasus blabbed, standing on her hind legs and waving her front hooves around in excitement, flapping her wings to keep herself balanced. All eyes turned to Twilight, who shifted uncomfortably.

“Uhm...” Twilight mumbled, shrinking under the others’ gaze. She didn’t want to talk about this. She had probably just doomed herself to scolding (and most likely being revealed to all of Equestria straight-up) by her mentor. She decided to try and change the topic. “So... has anypony seen Pinkie Pie lately? I haven’t heard from her all day.”

Rarity blinked a few times to snap herself out of her disconcerting stare, before answering, “Oh, she’s extremely busy at Sugarcube Corner today. She’s had customers out the door since eight o’ clock this morning, and can’t find time to come say hello. Although, I think the store will close soon, judging by how it’s dusk an-” Rarity stopped mid-sentence, looking at the sun, then at Twilight. “Oh... I guess it might already be closed, then.” The unicorn smiled awkwardly.

“Knowing Pinkie, she might come and visit us as soon as she can...” Fluttershy muttered. “Does she know where we are?”

“Perhaps. She seems to know where everypony is at any given time, so I’m certain she’ll find us,” Rarity answered, smiling at the butter-yellow pegasus. A loud cracking noise echoed through the air Rainbow Dash bent herself over backwards on a nearby log, her fuzzy cyan face overtaken with bliss as she popped the dislocated vertebrae in her spine.

“Ohhhhh....that felt greeeeaaaattt....” she droned, lying limply on the log. “...Whuzzat you say about Pinkie?”

“Yeah, what were you saying about me?” The pony in question giggled, suddenly sitting inbetween Fluttershy and Twilight. Everypony looked at her, surprised at her sudden appearance. Pinkie’s giggles escalated into joyous laughter, and she rolled onto her back, kicking her limbs into the air. The others merely stared at her, surprised. She eventually calmed down, and breathed out a sigh, lying still on the grass. “You silly fillies wouldn’t believe how many customers the Cakes and I had today! There were so many of them, and they all wanted cake! I had to go into overdrive to serve them fast enough. Heh, me, with an ‘overdrive’.... whoda thunk?” she yawned. “... I... I’m kinda tired... I’m never tired, though... OH, did you girls see what happened with the sun today? I looked outside and it was all dusk and orangey, then I went back in for a few minutes and then went outside again and it was bright again! It’s like time turned backwards!” she shouted, kicking her legs into the air again, but this time at a slower pace, and accompanied by a softer giggle. She turned her head to smile at Twilight, Ponyville’s premiere party pony actually sleepy for the first time her friends could remember. “Nice wings, Twilight.” she complimented, completely nonchalantly, returning her gaze to the emerging stars in the sky.

Twilight was... only somewhat surprised that Pinkie didn’t care about her changes, but the concept also brought a frothing tidal wave of sweet relief. Pinkie’s eyes widened curiously, and she looked at the alicorn again, grinning widely. “Did you do that? Make the day longer?”

Twilight shrunk backward slightly. “Uh...” she muttered, embarrassed, looking at the ground.

“You bet she did! You should’ve seen it in action, Pinkie! It was awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hovering in the air near the group. “I’m friends with an Alicorn~♪” She sang, pumping her hooves in front of her. Twilight flushed.

Pinkie pushed herself into a sitting position, her face beaming from an epiphany. “OH! I have an idea! Let’s throw a party to celebrate Twilight getting all princessey!”

“Uh... Pinkie... I don’t think that’s a good idea...” Fluttershy whispered, hiding her face behind her pink mane. “T-Twilight isn’t comfortable with lots of ponies knowing about her...”

Pinkie frowned, her hair visibly deflating somewhat. “Awww... There was going to be cake and ice cream and a cake & ice cream statue shaped like an alicorn and music and dancing and bobbing for apples an-” She was interrupted by a white hoof being shoved into her mouth.

“Pinkie, I know your special talent is throwing parties, but the poor dear wishes to stay under the radar for now, and we should respect her wish.” Rarity explained, her hyperactive friend nodding.

“Okay!” the pink earth pony giggled, her hair poofing back to its full size. “We can do it later when she’s OK with it!” Pinkie smiled at Twilight, who shook her head slightly.

Twilight looked at the sun again, before her eyes widened in realization. “Oh, I need to get back to the library. Spike’s making dinner, and I don’t want it to go to waste.” The dragon actually cooked most of the meals in the house, mainly because Twilight, regardless of her massive arsenal of book smarts, had absolutely no study in the culinary arts. She once attempted to prepare a simple breakfast, toast, and instead made a bowl full of bubbling, black slop. Toast. Reduced to that. After that event, both pony and dragon agreed that she would do none of the cooking from then on. “I’ll see you girls later, okay? Maybe tomorrow?” She asked, her friends nodding and giving various vocalizations of approval. She glanced at each of their friends, at each of their smiling faces. Her friends were still her friends. All of them. She felt one of the icy daggers in her heart completely melt away, leaving behind nothing but warm water.

She got up and waved to her friends as she trotted away, heading down the dirt path back to Ponyville.

---

Twilight grunted in concentration as she telekinetically fumbled with the magical lock she had placed on the front door of her library, having momentarily forgotten how to unlatch it. It was dark outside now, Luna’s pristine white moon having already begun its steady journey across the twinkling night sky. Thank Celestia, nopony was out right now. Well, as far as Twilight could see. She had begun formulating a plan in her head for how to stealthily move to her house without any of the city ponies seeing her--she didn’t want to be noticed quite yet--but when she arrived at the city limits, nopony was there. They were all either sleeping, or preparing to go to sleep, apparently. It was just an uneventful, slow trot to her house. She wondered for a moment if she could just knock on the door. Spike would definitely open it for her, assuming he’s not asleep. Maybe he was asleep. The alicorn absent-mindedly unlocked the door during her digressive train of thought, and with pleasant surprise, opened it and walked in. Yep, it was dark, and yep, she could hear Spike snoring from the other room. Oh well... Spike may have stored his previously-made dinner in the fridge, so she might just be able to snack on it later. Twilight trotted up the steps to the second floor and walked down the hallway, before arriving at her room. Spike had made her bed for her, as he always did. Oh good... The alicorn yawned humongously, before tiredly crawling onto her mattress. She let her wings spread out behind her and lay on the comforter, sighing with content. The feeling of cold air on her feathers was very comforting, and felt significantly cooler than keeping them bunched up against her sides.

Maybe this would all turn out okay. She still has her friends, she still has her life. She drew a blank with Princess Celestia; nothing says she would be so inconsiderate as to tell the entire world about her without her consent. And the rest of Equestria? Eh... she’ll get around to it tomorrow...

---

When Twilight awoke the next morning, she actually felt well-rested, for once. A glance at the analog clock on the wall told her it was... Ten o’ clock? She sat up, surprised, and glanced at the window that usually allowed the sun to crispy-fry everything in her room. There were a set of white blinds neatly splayed over it, angled upward to block any light from entering her bedroom. The alicorn blinked, before smiling. It must have been Spike’s doing. Such a good assistant, and such a good theoretical little brother...

She pushed her comforter off of her, leaving the fabric in an unkempt mess, as was the norm for her morning routine, before climbing out of her bed. Spike always made her bed for her; it was one of his voluntary chores, so the ex-unicorn never really did it herself. Twilight stretched her limbs and her wings out, wringing out any cramps, before folding the avian appendages back against her sides and walking merrily down the hallway, humming happily to herself.

She turned into the kitchen and sat down at the table, as usual. Spike was cooking breakfast as well, whistling an oddly familiar tune. “Hey Twilight,” he greeted, turning around. “How’s it goi-whoa...” The young dragon almost dropped the plate he was holding as he gawked upward at his older sister.

Twilight’s furred face scrunched up in confusion. “What?” she asked, blinking. Spike was looking at her like she had two heads, his slitted green eyes tracing up and down her figure.

“Uh... did you get taller?” He asked. Twilight raised her eyebrows, looking down at her library assistant. He was... a bit smaller than the alicorn remembered. She looked around the room. Everything was a bit smaller than she remembered. She looked down at her legs; they appeared to be maybe six inches longer. Did she grow in height while she was asleep?

“Uhm...” she began awkwardly, entirely unsure of her next sentence. She decided to change the topic. “So... Thanks for setting up those blinds in my room, Spike,” she began, heaving a relaxed sigh. “I can sleep sooo much better now...”

“Uhhh...you’re welcome?” the dragon said, an awkward smile plastered on his scaly face. He set the plate of stir-fried vegetables on the table, kissing his hand affectionately and muttering, “Bon appetit!”

Twilight looked down at the food in front of her. Spike had stir-fried it so well that each vegetable was the exact same appetizing shade of caramel. She levitated a fork from a nearby drawer, before spearing some of the food and biting down on it, savoring the flavor. Spike was always a good cook. Way better than she was, anyway. She noticed that the dragon still had his eyes glued to her, and she gazed back with a raised eyebrow. “Spike, is something the matter?” she asked.

“...Want me to get a mirror?” the dragon inquired, gazing concernedly at the alicorn.

Twilight’s eyebrows upturned. “What? Why? D-did something happen?? Yes, please get the mirror,” she requested, panic beginning to grasp her once again. The purple-and-green dragon nodded and left the room for a moment, grabbing a handheld mirror from the nearby bathroom, and returning with it. She held it up in front of Twilight so she could see.

Twilight gasped, blinking at the image the reflective silver surface showed her. Not only was she taller, a few other things had changed slightly, too. Most noticeably, her face was just a little bit different. Instead of being perfectly round like the average mare, it was slightly more streamlined, almost like Princess Celestia’s. Not quite, however... it was something inbetween her original face and a princess’s. She also noticed that her horn was a couple of inches longer, and was now larger than a normal pony’s. Turning her head slightly, she saw that her single-striped mane was slightly longer as well, and seemed to..to flow, just a little, in a nonexistant wind. The flowing was so slight, however, that it was unnoticeable unless she was standing perfectly still. And even at that, it was hard to see unless one actually focused on it. Her jaw worked uselessly as she stared at her reflection.

“...S... Spike... w... what’s happening to me...?” she asked absent-mindedly, otherwise at a complete loss for words.

“You think that book had something to do with it?” her assistant queried, setting the mirror face-down on the dining table.

The alicorn didn’t respond, moreso staring through her assistant rather than at him. She couldn’t even go out in public now. Yesterday, she could’ve just acted completely nonchalant and no one would gawk for too long, but now she was larger than the average pony, and would stand over everyone else in a crowd. She would stick out like a sore hoof. And the fact that her figure now looked almost like that of the princesses would not help. ‘Hiding in plain sight’ was not an option now.

...Why was this happening to her, anyway? Why her? She didn’t ask for this! She liked her life how it was! Why couldn’t it have happened to somepony else? ...Well, she was ‘somepony else’ to somepony else. If this happened to another pony, they might be wishing the same thing. Maybe they got their wish, and all this was placed on Twilight instead. I hate you, karma, she thought. Scowling, she picked up her fork again and continued eating.

Spiked rubbed his hands together nervously. “Uhm... Twilight? I actually used the last of the food to make breakfast just now... Do... Do you want to go to the market? We usually go together, but...”

Twilight ate the last vegetable of her breakfast, and then telekinetically wiped her mouth with a cloth. It was inevitable; she’d eventually have to go outside. She needed necessities, she needed fresh air. Last time the ex-unicorn tried to stay inside her house for an entire day, she went stir-crazy and began throwing things out of anger. Thankfully it was mostly books; not furniture. The latter would have been very bad.

She swallowed anxiously. “I’ll... I’ll go. I-it doesn’t matter what other ponies think of me,” she dismissed, albeit shakily. She could feel herself trembling, and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“Are you sure, Twilight? If you’d rather stay here, I won’t make you come with me...” Spike offered, concerned.

“I... I... I-I said I’ll go...” she reiterated, her voice shaking as much as the rest of her. Conquer your fears, Twilight, she told herself. They can only affect you if you let them. She stood up from the table, and walked hesitantly to the front door, before opening it. “L-Let’s go, Spike,” she beckoned.

Her draconic assistant complied, and followed her outside.

---

Twilight stood in line for one of the produce vendor stands, trying to remain as still as possible. She was in an area of the marketplace where several tents were set up, the insides stacked high with knicknacks & commodities. They ranged in color from cobalt-blue to a deep purple to black, and each one actually took up a lot of space, for the proprietors’ goods were abundant. Many ponies were in front of the alicorn, many more behind her, and countless passing by, but one thing remained constant between them; every single one was staring at her. The only exceptions were the vendors & customers currently negotiating with each other, and even they kept stealing glances at her. She was slightly taller than all of them, so she stuck out to begin with, but even those giving mere passing glances never broke their gaze upon sighting that she possessed both a horn and wings. In her mind, she kept telling herself, I’m not different. I’m not any different. It doesn’t matter what they think. The line moved forward, and so did she, the momentary shuffling of hooves ceasing as quickly as it began. The only sound prevalent in this area of the marketplace were the quiet whispers of nearby ponies, no doubt whispering about “the strange alicorn that just showed up.” Twilight felt like she was under a spotlight, and suffice it to say, she was prone to stage fright.

The alicorn eventually approached the fruit vendor, the stallion in front of her scampering away, supposedly to not keep the spellcaster waiting. The lavender pony watched the previous customer as he hightailed it, before clearing her throat and facing the vendor. “Hi, I would like two heads of lettuce, a grapefruit, and six bell peppers, please,” she requested.

The merchant in front of her, a beige earth stallion with a brown fedora, wore a very wide, very forced smile on his face. “R-right away, ma’am,” he answered shakily, fetching the various items of produce from the nearby mounted shelves and placing them on the counter. “Th... Th...Th... That’ll be th... thir... eight bits. Yes, eight bits.” The merchant shook violently with obvious fear.

Twilight’s eyes unfocused in thought for a moment, before focusing on the vendor again. “Wait, I’m sure this costs at least thirty-five bits. I don’t want to rob you,” the alicorn empathized, levitating seven five-bit coins out of her saddlebags and placing them on the counter.

“N-no, no, I-I insist...” The earth pony’s grin was so wide, it looked painful. The winged unicorn suddenly realized she was haggling up, but her minor irritation was knocked aside by another thought; he was actually giving her a discount because he was afraid of her.

“Sir, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. I’m not that kind of pony,” Twilight snipped, far more intimidatingly than she intended. The vendor pony’s smile vanished, and he shrunk backwards with a sharp yelp, his chest heaving. He was obviously scared out of his wits.

“J-Just t-take them. N-no charge,” the beige earth pony stuttered, acting as if there was a gun to his head. Twilight shook her head sadly and levitated the fruit into her saddlebags, leaving the seven coins on the table, before turning and walking away. She kept walking until she had left the area, approaching a forum of the market that wasn’t infested with tents; the manufactured goods area. Twilight heard a few ponies behind her re-engage in conversation, no doubt about her, and she flicked her fuzzy ears as she tried to listen to what they said.

“Who was that?”

“Is she a princess?”

“She kind of looks like Twilight Sparkle... but isn’t she a unicorn?”

The individual voices were drowned out by more ponies jumping in, their voices melding together into the usual indiscernible buzz of conversation. Twilight sighed dejectedly, hanging her head. Strands of her mane flipped down onto her face, but she didn’t have the mind to blow them off. This was going horribly. She couldn’t go anywhere without being stared at. Being whispered about.

She just wanted to go home.

Her lavender ears perked as she heard the beckoning shouts of a particular applebucking earth pony, and she raised her violet head to face the source of the noise. Applejack was negotiating with customers at her stand, looking as healthy as ever. Wait, wasn’t she sick? Oh well, she must have recovered. Twilight smiled. Finally, a friend... She and Spike had split up earlier; they had agreed to grab different groceries. The alicorn was to retrieve the fruit & vegetables, and the young dragon went to a different part of the marketplace to pick up grain & dairy products, so Twilight had been bearing the gawks of everypony all on her own for the past hour. She almost galloped to Applejack, a grand smile on her face as she realized she would be able to talk to Applejack immediately; she had just finished with the last customer in line.

Twilight just about skidded to a stop in front of the stand, looking incredibly relieved to see her friend. Applejack didn’t smile back; she only stared and remained quiet. The lavender pony’s smile melted away at the unfamiliar stare her friend was giving her.

“...Well howdy, Princess! Haven’t seen you around here before. What can I get fer ya’ today? Say, ya’ll look pretty dang familia-...” The earth pony began with a smile, apparently not recognizing her best friend, before halting mid-sentence. “...Twilight?” the earth pony muttered, her face contorting into an incredulous gawk. She blinked. “...Whoa.”

Twilight’s fuzzy complexion twisted into a saddened frown, and she looked away.

Applejack shook her head to clear her thoughts, her blonde mane whipping back and forth, before looking back up at her alicorn friend, her expression apologetic. “W-wait sugarcube, I-I’m sorry for not recognizin’ you. But... what happened? You... you’re taller. And...”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to apologize...” Twilight muttered sadly, sighing. “I know I look different now. I don’t know why. Just...” The alicorn’s eyes suddenly widened with curiosity, and she returned her gaze to her orange friend. “Wait, weren’t you sick yesterday?”

The applebucker blinked, before chuckling brightly. “Oh yeah, when my family got home, Granny Smith whipped up some of her special herbal tea, and after drinkin’ some, I felt good as new! Come to think of it, I should probably give Dash some, ‘cause I know she caught whatever illness I had.” The southern pony’s eyebrows furrowed and she looked to her lower-right, pursing her lips in thought. A moment passed, and she looked up at Twilight again. “Oh, yeah, I really am sorry for not recognizin’ you. You ain’t that much different, it’s just that I’ve been talkin’ to a bunch of faces I don’t know all day, and it must’ve thrown off my concentration or some’n.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “But... you addressed me as ‘Princess’. Do I really look...?”

Applejack remained silent for a moment, biting her lip. “Uh... I really hate to say this, sugarcube, but... yeah, you do.” The earth pony shot a glare to someone on Twilight’s left. “What’re you lookin’ at? Go on, get!”

The alicorn turned her fuzzy head to her left to look at whoever Applejack was talking to, and she saw a mint-green unicorn with a harp on her flank gawking spectacularly at her. Twilight narrowed her purple eyes at her, and she scampered away in fright, before the lavender librarian cast her gaze downward and gave a sad sigh. She felt Applejack’s hoof on her furred shoulder, and she looked back up to see the blonde pony staring at her, concern emanating from her emerald-green eyes.

“Don’t worry about any o’ them, Twi. They’re just ignorant. You forge yer own life, and don’t let anypony tell you that ya’ can’t, alright?” the apple farmer said, smiling.

Twilight smiled back. Applejack always knew just what to say when a pony is feeling down. She said her goodbyes to the applebucker, and began to head towards the marketplace center, wearing a confident smile on her lavender face.

The center of the marketplace was actually built on top of a large disc-shaped expanse of concrete, with some funky design on it that depicted the Princesses in a yin-yang pattern, courtesy of the painter ponies. There were no stalls here; this was largely just a meeting place, and as such it was the agreed regrouping location for Twilight and her dragon assistant. Spike should already be here, and if not, he’ll be here soon, she thought to herself, turning the corner that led to the marketplace center.

What she saw nearly made her heart stop.

Princess Celestia was standing on a raised podium, flanked by a few guards, discussing something with a few citizen ponies. Twilight froze. If the princess saw her how she is now, it... it wouldn’t be good. She just knew it wouldn’t be. Crap! What was she supposed to do!?

The princess raised her white head from her conversation with her subjects, turning her head to face her lavender student, her ever-flowing pastel-colored mane rotating with it. She gave a warm smile at first, but it was quickly replaced with an astonished gawk. Twilight felt a dagger of ice skewer her heart like a vegetable on a fire spit as the Princess stood up and began to walk toward her. No... NO!! She immediately closed her eyes and focused magic into her horn, and envisioned a place nearby to teleport to. There was no place within range that would provide an effective getaway. Well, her... her old range, she guessed. She could move the sun now, so maybe she could attempt to teleport somewhere farther away. Her... her library. That might work. She felt her magical energy encompassing her body, before she heard a loud ZAP, and felt her body being tugged violently in one direction for a fraction of a second. Her eyes fluttered open, and she found herself standing in the middle of her house’s front room, no longer in the Ponyville Marketplace.

She breathed a sigh of relief, but then her breath hitched as she realized that the princess had seen her. Oh no... That was it. She was doomed. Game over. She shrunk backwards from nopony in particular, tucking her limbs close together and shaking violently on the floor, her eyes beginning to water with hot tears. She was done for. She couldn’t hide anymore. The princess will tell everyone.

She remained in that position, trembling in absolute fear, for some time. She didn’t know how long it was, but she guessed that approximately fifteen minutes had passed, and during that fifteen minutes she continuously asked herself the same question: What do I do...?What do I do...? It was over for her. All she’d been doing this entire time was merely delaying the inevitable... What would she be expected to do now? Manage the sun? Manage public affairs? Watch over the country?

“Why can’t I just be normal!?” She cried, out loud, through her tears. She shut her eyes tight, took a shuddering breath, and stood up, walking to a nearby bookcase and levitating a specific hardcover book out of it. She brought it in front of her; it was red with a yellow stripe across the title, which read Equestrian Government: A Synopsis in fancy hand-written cursive writing. She sighed. “...I might as well get started now...” she muttered to herself miserably, psychokinetically opening the book and turning to the table of contents.

Ker-chak. Twilight whipped her head to her right at the noise; it was her front door opening. A small purple-and-green dragon stepped through, carrying a few bags stuffed with various breads and cheeses, amongst other things. Spike set the bags down on the floor, before closing the door behind him.

“Oh... Oh hey Twilight. Where were you? I couldn’t find you in the marketplace center, so I came back here.” The library assistant’s gaze became concerned as he stared at the alicorn’s tear-streaked face. “...Twilight? Are you okay?” he asked, approaching the lavender pony. “What are you rea-” His sentence was interrupted by an unexpected burp, the resulting green flame coalescing into a small point, before transforming into a rolled-up scroll with a small pop.

Twilight simply stared at the parchment as it drifted down lazily to the floor. She didn’t want to read it. It was a letter from her mentor, Princess Celestia, who had just seen her... developments.

Regardless, Spike grabbed it and opened it up, clearing his throat in preparation to read it aloud. Twilight snatched it with her telekinesis before he could, however, and brought it in front of her. She took a deep breath, and braced herself for the worst.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Twilight... I’m worried. My assumptions may be unfounded, but I needed to confirm something with you first. At the Ponyville marketplace just now, I saw... an alicorn, that looked strikingly like you do. I thought it was you, until I laid eyes on her wings. Large, beautiful lavender wings. Upon looking closer, I also saw that she had the same cutie mark as you do. I tried to move closer to greet her, but she teleported to a location that I was unable to trace.

Please, Twilight. Please, be honest with me... was that you? My sister has been besieging me with radical speculations that align with a philosophical novel she has taken an interest in, and although I do find them ridiculous, I am now beginning to give them the benefit of a doubt. One of the speculations by my sister, the one she mentions the most, is something rather prophetical about the monarch. i.e; me. According to Luna, if an alicorn monarch often spends a large amount of time with one unicorn, and casts beneficial spells on him/her, for many years of his/her life beginning at an early age, a small exchange of magic may occur at some point during adulthood. It seems rather insignificant, I know, but it is also scribed that alicorn magic possesses traits that resemble that of a virus. After the exchange, the small amount of alicorn magic begins to infect and transform the pony’s own magic. The process is slow, and it takes place over approximately two weeks. During those two weeks, the pony’s body changes immensely, gaining traits of an alicorn (such as wings). At the end of the two-week period, their body has completely changed into the shape of an alicorn, complete with a massive reserve of magic.

I... I’m sorry. I’m rambling. But please, Twilight... If this is happening to you, please tell me... I only wish to help. I didn’t know this could happen, but if it is, I... I promise that I will help however I can. If you’d rather talk to me face-to-face instead of through letters, I’m still in the marketplace. If that alicorn wasn’t you, disregard this letter entirely.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia.

Twilight remained silent. An exchange of magic? She was... going to become a full-blown alicorn? Well, two mysteries solved: This was happening because of Celestia, and she was transforming into an alicorn. The lavender pony blinked, before assuming a small smile as the last dagger of ice in her heart melted away. She understands... I don’t have to worry anymore...

The purple alicorn’s warm sense of relief was challenged by another thought; everypony was still afraid of her. There would still be a problem. But... maybe Celestia could help. Thank goodness, she wasn’t going to expose the lavender mare to everyone straight-up. The librarian gazed upward as she began to wonder about her future in the long run. After the two weeks are up, was she really going to have to take Celestia’s place? Or, just rule alongside her? Or not... But maybe she was going to have to assume the position of an important political figure anyway, and would have to be engaged in Equestrian government. And the whole thing with the sun... She still didn’t know how to do any of that.

Spike had grabbed and read the letter while the bookish alicorn was contemplating her situation, and tapped Twilight’s shoulder to gain her attention. “Twilight? Maybe we should go back to the marketplace to figure this all out,” he suggested.

The purple pony gazed at him for a moment, before nodding. She could ask the princess if she could just keep living how she is, instead of having to take up an enormous alicorn responsibility.

“But, don’t forget your flight lesson with Rainbow Dash today at four,” Spike reminded.

Twilight loosed a small giggle, and patted the dragon’s head. “Don’t worry, Spike. I won’t.”

The princess would figure everything out.... …. . .. . .

. . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .…...right?

A huge brohoof to my editor, Beige Monkfish! Go spam his profile with praise. Do it now!