Twilight Sparkle winced again as another needle pierced her flesh. Once the blood was drawn, and the needle removed, she sighed and relaxed as she felt the right wing of her teacher stroke her back. Over the past hour, the infirmary doctors had been in a frenzy, hooking the unicorn up to various machines, taking readings, and more blood than Twilight ever thought could come out of a pony. She looked up at her mentor, who smiled at her. The gesture did nothing to settle her soul. She knew it was just camouflage, meant to hide her worry. She was a monster again. A freak, and just like a freak, the doctors treated her as if she was nothing more than a test subject. She was a chemical mixture. A horrific biological experiment to be poked, prodded and studied. How ironic that science, her first love, betrayed her so significantly. If the situation weren’t so dire, she would have smiled at the irony.

“That’s the last one. We will run our tests and report our findings as soon as we have something, your highness,” one of the unicorn doctors said before giving the royal alicorn a quick bow and walking away with the vial of liquid levitating in front of him.

He was the last to leave. Once the door shut, only the slight beeps of the monitors echoed off the marble floor and walls. Princess Celestia sat down beside her student’s hospital bed, her eyes still puffy from crying. She must have held her pupil for at least a half hour before alerting the doctors. When they saw what her apprentice had become, even as trained professionals, they couldn’t hide their looks of horror. After getting over the initial shock, however, they went to work right away, doing their best to maintain their composure. Celestia was worried how her student would take having the doctors, the ones who were supposed to help her, look at her in disgust. Luckily, she seemed to be in a daze and only kept casual attention on those around her. The sun princess’ next priority was to send a messenger to tell her sister. At first, she hesitated, but finally, she sent a few guards to alert her after she got Twilight settled into the infirmary bed. She would have expected to see Luna any minute now, if they hadn’t argued so viciously only nine or so hours earlier. Now, she wasn’t so sure. The elder alicorn needed to push the thoughts about her sibling aside, however. She needed more information on Twilight. Where had she been all this time? Had she hurt anyone? As much as she didn’t want to put Twilight through any additional pain, she needed answers.

“Twilight, where were you? I… we were so worried about you,” Princess Celestia whispered.

“I… I don’t remember most of it. I felt like I was in a daze most of the time. I… I remember something sweet. I…I needed to eat, and… I found a few stores who had some muffins and cupcakes that they had thrown away. And… and then… I…” Twilight stammered.

“Shh, it’s alright, Twilight. You are not in trouble here. But, we need to know where you’ve been,” the princess pressed.

“I… I went to see my parents,” Twilight choked out through tears.

Celestia’s eyes widened at the statement. She prayed that Twilight hadn’t done anything rash, and that her parents were still alright. She saw this was difficult for her, but she needed to press her for more.

“What happened, Twilight? It’s ok, you can tell me,” Celestia said.

The unicorn could not help but tremble as the memories of that night came back to her. She closed her eyes as she willed her voice to calm enough to get the words out.

“I… I was finally thinking straight for a moment, and… I guess my first instinct was to go home, but… It was at night, and it was hard to make anything out. I was able to see through the first floor window. It was late, and no one was on the streets. I saw the fireplace lit, and when I looked closer, I could see them…. mommy…and daddy. I missed them so much, and here they were, just a few feet from me! I…I never thought I would ever see them again! I…I wanted to burst through the door and hug them with all my might! I wanted to kiss them and hug them and tell them how much I loved them and missed them! I leaned in to get a better view. They were asleep. Daddy was holding mommy, and mommy was holding… a picture… of me. That’s when I got a good look at myself…from… from the reflection on the glass. I couldn’t go in there. What would I say? ‘Hi mom and dad, here I am, alive, see? Too bad I’m changing again, and you’re gonna have to watch me die!’” Twilight stammered as her voice cracked.

She couldn’t take any more. She was falling apart on the inside and on the outside. She couldn’t help thinking about how cruel fate was to her, giving her a second chance, escaping one nightmare, just to relive another. The unicorn reached out to her teacher, hugging her tight, as she screamed into Celestia’s wing, her body wracked with sobs.

“Mommy… mommy!” Twilight uttered over and over, while her fresh tears matted her mentor’s feathers.

Princess Celestia held her student, letting her cry her eyes out yet again. What else could she say? All she could do now was offer her support and reassurance. But in Twilight’s state, what good was such a pledge, even from the ruler of the sun? The stagnation of the unknown infuriated her. Each passing second without any new information felt like an hour, yet she knew all she could do was wait and console the mare hugging her tight. Suddenly, she gasped as she thought back to their recent conversation.

‘Th…the stores that had their trash raided!’ She thought to herself as she felt tears of her own streak down her face.

It was her. It was her this whole time. She was ready to strike down her guards for their alleged incompetence, and yet they were right. Princess Celestia didn’t think she could possibly feel worse than she did a few seconds ago, but she was wrong. Her sister warned her about her overzealous behavior, and she just ignored it. She couldn’t help herself. As much as she loved all of her subjects, this was different. This was Twilight. She knew she needed to say something different from what she had already said, but the only thing that came out was a barely audible apology.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I’m so sorry,” Celestia uttered just above a whisper.

-

Princess Luna stared at the back of the stallion’s head as she pulled the covers closer. It was an odd sensation for her to be lying in bed during the night instead of the day, but she couldn’t bring herself to do any work, not after what her sister said to her. She sighed deeply as the dampness on her pillow lightly caressed her cheek. Watching Big Mac sleep had an unusually calming effect on her. She didn’t know why, but somehow focusing on the stallion’s breathing was the only thing that kept her from screaming when she came back to the room after that horrible fight. The more she thought about it, the more she wished she’d acted differently. The moon princess knew she was right when she told her sibling that she needed to calm down and rest, but she also understood that she had gone too far with her accusations. She was afraid something like this would happen with the tension running so high between them. In all honestly, she hadn’t even realized she’d said it. She closed her eyes and turned over in the large plush bed, her back to her lover. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she still hurt inside. It wasn’t like before, when she was jealous of her sister. However, the deeper she searched her thoughts it became clear that there was a sadness that lingered. They never really had a conversation after she came back. They just wanted to be back in each other’s lives, and in doing so, forsook their own piece of mind by not talking about what separated them in the first place. Perhaps that was a mistake. After over two years of being back, it seemed like the incident still haunted both of them. There was only one thing to do, no matter how painful it might be.

‘We need to talk about it, but how? How would I even begin that conversation?’ Princess Luna thought to herself.

A knock at the door snapped her away from her thoughts as she slowly rose out of the bed, treading carefully as to not disturb Big Mac. Luckily, he only let out a small snore, as he turned over and readjusted himself. Opening the door slowly, she eyed the three guards that now stood in front of her bedchambers. By the looks on their faces, something happened. The lead guard spoke up, nervousness lacing his speech.

“Princess Luna, we are sorry to disturb you, but Princess Celestia ordered us to tell you that…” the guard hesitated.

“Tell me what? Speak,” Luna urged.

“Twilight Sparkle has returned. She is in the infirmary with Princess Celestia, and they are running tests. Ms. Sparkle is… not herself,” the royal guard said as politely as he could.

The dark coated alicorn’s eyes widened as she pushed her way past the guards, and ran to the infirmary as fast as her legs could take her. With each step bringing her closer to the makeshift hospital wing, her last thought before entering the sterile room was that the talk between her and her elder sibling would have to wait.

-

As the doctor, Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle made their way down the hallway, only the sound of their hooves clacking against the marble floor echoed. The doctor had simply said that the medical staff had finished their test results and now had a working theory. After that, no more words were spoken as they all made their way to the lounge area where Princess Luna made sure to have the others waiting. Depending on what was needed of them, all of the elements of harmony needed to hear what the doctors had to say. At first, the physician was slightly perturbed about revealing their findings to anyone other than the patient, but a glare for the alicorn princess quickly put an end to such thoughts. Celestia glanced over at her student walking beside her. She had opted to wear a hooded cape in order to hide her ghastly features. The princess didn’t like the idea of her student feeling so insecure, but she quickly dismissed arguing with her over it as she just wanted to make her pupil as comfortable as possible. As the doctor and Princess Celestia turned to go into the room, Twilight hesitated. Her eyes met the floor as she felt the shadow of her teacher cast over her.

“I…I don’t want to go in there,” Twilight stammered.

“Twilight, we have to find out what’s wrong. They need to know too,” Princess Celestia said.

“They hate me, Princess! And…and even if they didn’t I’m still…all this is going to do is remind them of all the horrible things I did to them!” Twilight retorted, her voice cracking.

“Listen to me, Twilight,” the elder alicorn began softly as she cradled her student with her neck like a mother would a foal.

“No one hates you. They are still your friends, and no one wants anything bad to happen to you. They all love you, Twilight. I love you, and we are going to help you in every way we can. Please, come in and let’s hear what the doctor has to say,” The sun princess stated.

Sighing deeply, Twilight nodded and proceeded into the room followed by her mentor. She was met by a series of gasps, and the unicorn closed her eyes, as she knew where they were coming from. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all backed away from her, as they took in the familiar site of Twilight’s mangled body. She couldn’t imagine what they were feeling right now. Before, she was just a symbol of the horrors she put them through, but now, she was the personification of it. The pictured image of that which hurt them and tried to kill them. The more Twilight thought about it, the worse she felt, until finally she whimpered and dropped to the floor, covering her disfigured face with her hooves.

“I…I’m sorry, everyone!” She cried as she began to shiver.

“Tw…Twilight?” A voice whispered as the unicorn slowly looked up.

It was Spike. She honestly didn’t think it was possible for her to feel any worse than she did a few moments ago, but her heart sank even further as their eyes met. During the events that led up to that horrible night back in Ponyville, Spike was away the whole time, and never saw Twilight in this state. It was the one consolation that she carried through that horrible ordeal. Spike was mature, but he was still a baby dragon, and she found solace in the fact that at least the ones who had to deal with her were adults and not children. She didn’t even have that anymore. Spike was about to make his way over to her, when the doctor stopped him.

“Please. I understand that this is a terrible situation, but you all need to hear what I have to say,” he said evenly.

Spike looked over to Twilight, who nodded, letting the dragon know that it was all right. He sighed and relaxed, after giving Princess Celestia a fleeting glare. He turned to the doctor, as did everyone else in the room. Big Mac stood next to Princess Luna, as the rest of them shifted in order to get a better vantage point on the physician. The unicorn’s fellow element bearers did their best to stay away from Twilight, as the doctor began.

“We took blood and tissue samples from Ms. Sparkle as soon as she arrived back at the castle this morning and we compared them to the samples we took while she was recovering from her recent… assault. We then compared those results to the ones from samples we had obtained from the library after the initial incident in Ponyville…and…I’m sorry to say, but…” the physician stammered uncomfortably.

“Doctor, please,” Princess Luna encouraged softly.

“Whatever transformation Twilight Sparkle went through before, she is going through again, now,” the medical professional stated.

Everyone in the room other than the unicorn physician let out a sharp whimper. They each felt their stomachs drop as the words sank in. Fluttershy did her best to control herself. She needed to stop herself from hyperventilating, as she brought her hoof to her chest, and concentrated on her breathing.

‘Breath, breath, breath…’ the pegasus repeated over and over in her head.

Rarity was numb, her face draining of all color. Being in the same room as the mare who forced herself on her was bad enough, but now, that same mare, the unicorn she used to call her friend was once again becoming a monster. She would be subject to horrible pain and suffering, and the worst part for Rarity was the fact that she didn’t know how she felt about it. She didn’t even know how she was supposed to feel about it.

Applejack needed to hug someone. Anyone. Regret filled her mind and her heart. She may have been angry at Twilight, but that anger was always tempered by the fact that she saw her former friend as sick. She sniffled as she felt tears of helplessness form in her eyes. The blond earth pony turned to Rainbow Dash, whose look of confusion made it seem like she was in a bad dream that she couldn’t wake up from. She didn’t know how to process what she just heard. Twilight hurt her worse than any pony ever had before. Yet, here the unicorn was, about to go through another horrible nightmare, and a pain worse than death. She looked down at the bandage around her wing as she felt Applejack hug her tight.

Princess Celestia, who was at her student’s side ever since they entered the room, cradled her apprentice in her left wing. The royal alicorn hoped with all her might that it was something simple, but her worst feelings, the ones that nagged at her from the pit of her stomach were finally given substance rather than just fading into speculation. She turned her head and looked at her student. It didn’t take long for Twilight to begin sobbing softly. All of her worst fears were realized with that statement. She was reliving the nightmare. No one said anything as they each absorbed the news in their own way.

“How…wh…why?!?” Pinkie Pie finally stammered out after a few minutes of silence.

“Well, we only have a theory for now. Please understand, this is the most scientifically complex thing we have ever seen. It… it’s honestly a phenomenon that we can study for years and still not grasp. With that said, however, we believe that her change was triggered by her injuries,” the physician explained.

Rarity felt her heart skip a beat as her legs stiffened. It wasn’t possible. She was no scientist! How could what she did to her former friend ever cause something like this?

“What do you mean, doc?” Big Mac inquired.

“Well, I don’t believe you were here for it, but the night Twilight came back, she was beaten severely. She had multiple fractures, contusions and lacerations. We believe, and this is just a theory, mind you, that the DNA of the fly was dormant inside of her, and that her body went into some sort of stasis,” he answered.

“Stasis?” Luna pressed.

“Yes. It’s similar to when our body compensates when something is missing. It’s not quite the same thing, but essentially, we believe that her body, in its damaged state, looked within itself to co-op anything it could to sustain and repair itself. The fly DNA has remarkable metabolism, and we believe that Ms. Sparkle’s body unlocked it in order to speed up the healing process,” the physician said.

Rarity’s heart began to race at the doctor’s statement. She had completely misunderstood his original explanation. Her legs became weak as she did her best to keep her composure. She prayed that no one noticed the change in her demeanor, although she quickly realized how fleeting that thought to be, as she further considered the situation. She cursed inward at letting such thoughts into her mind, but again she was torn about how to feel. She wished so badly that she could just shut her eyes and when she opened them, she would be back at the Carousel Boutique, leaving this madness behind her.

“Doctor, how do we reverse the process? Can magic help?” Luna inquired.

“No. At least we don’t think so. There is no spell for dealing with something like this, at least on this level. It’s not that we don’t have transformation spells, but those are temporary and are more illusionary in nature than anything. In this situation? You’re talking about a spell that would have to change every single cell in Ms. Sparkle’s body. Her very DNA. No such spell has ever been written. Even if it were possible, the amount of magic required would be astronomical, and whoever cast such a spell would be in grave danger and may not even survive casting it,” the physician said.

“Wh…what about the Elements of Harmony? They can do anything, right?” Big Mac said, as he tried to bring even a glimmer of hope to this ordeal.

“We did think about that, but it would have the same problem as with writing a spell for this. Twilight’s body is in a very different state, and we have no idea how the strain of using her element would affect her. It could even speed up the transformation. There is just no way to know,” the medical professional answered.

After another few moments of silence, with only the occasional sniffle echoing through the ornate room, Twilight stood up, and walked over to the doctor. No one, not even Princess Celestia moved, as they watched the unicorn slink slowly towards him.

“How long do I have?” She whispered.

“Based on our calculations, we believe another six weeks. Two months at best,” he said.

“And then what?” Twilight pressed.

“Then…we don’t know. Either your body accepts the change and you become a completely different creature, or…” the doctor stammered.

“You’ll die.”

“NO!” Pinkie Pie screamed, as she lunged for the physician, almost knocking him to the floor.

He dodged, just in time as the pink party mare fell flat on her belly in the spot the healer used to be. She began screaming at the top of her lungs as tears streamed down her face.

“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO HELP! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO HELP SICK PONIES GET BETTER! YOU HAVE TO! THAT’S YOUR JOB! MY FRIEND IS SICK! MY BEST FRIEND IS SICK! WHY WON’T YOU HELP HER?!? YOU HAVE TO HELP HER! PLEASE! PLEASE!” Pinkie Pie sobbed while staring at him.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you all something different, or at the very least some more information, but this is all we have,” he said in a tranquil tone, trying his best to calm the sobbing mare in front of him.

Pinkie Pie shook with anger and sadness, as she slowly got to her hooves. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair! Her best friend was back, after all she did, and now she was going to have to leave again. She wouldn’t accept it, no matter what the physician said. She felt her anger rising like a volcano about to burst, and she knew exactly who to take it out on. She ran out of the room as fast as she could, not even looking back to the others or saying goodbye. They just let her go, as a twinge of guilt plucked at Rarity and Rainbow Dash’s hearts. Pinkie was the only one of them that fully supported Twilight’s return, and she was finally making progress on becoming the party pony they all knew and loved. Twilight just stood there, her mind in a daze as she barely registered Pinkie’s outburst or departure.

“Two months. Just two months and then I’ll have to go back,” she whispered.

She felt the wing of her teacher once again caress her back, as she shivered thinking about the horrors that lie ahead. She looked up at her mentor. The princess met her gaze, and almost broke down at the sight. Twilight was looking at her like a frightened foal. Gone was the confident, bookish young mare that she had seen grow up. All that was left was a scared child that just wanted to survive. That was the moment the princess decided to act. If magic would not offer a solution than she would just have to look elsewhere. After a few moments, she formulated a plan. Wanting to give the pair some time to themselves, the doctor excused himself, as did the rest of them, leaving and none of them uttering a sound as they left the student and teacher alone. The white alicorn knelt down in front of her student as she whispered.

“Twilight Sparkle, I will not let you die. I will not let you go back to that horrible place as long as I can still draw a breath. I…I have a plan, but it’s going to take both of us for it to work. Twilight…I’m going to have to push you harder than you have ever been pushed before,” she said as she stroked her pupil’s cheek with her hoof.

“Wh…whatever it takes. I don’t want to go back there, please, I don’t want to go back there!” Twilight cried back as she hugged Princess Celestia tight.

-

She’d been following the doctor down the last few hallways after they all dispersed. Rarity sighed in relief when she realized the others hadn’t followed her. She needed to ask a very important question. She didn’t know how she was going to ask it, but she needed to know for herself. After a few moments, her fellow unicorn came to a halt and turned around. He did his best not to give her an annoyed look as he knew the trauma that he had just informed them all about was quite devastating, but she could tell that he was a bit irked by her presence.

“Is there something on your mind, Ms. Rarity?” he asked in the most pleasant tone he could muster.

This was it. She looked down, her mind racing as she searched for the words. She knew she needed to be level headed, but her thoughts and nerves were screaming at her from the inside. Finally, she cleared her throat and began.

“Yes, doctor, I just had a small inquiry. Are…are you sure that Twilight’s injuries caused her…transformation?” she asked meekly.

“Ms. Rarity, I believe I’ve already answered that question. We don’t really know what caused the transformation, and her injuries causing the release of dormant genes was the best we could theorize right now,” the doctor huffed.

Rarity tried her best to utter a response, but no sound came out. After a few moments, the doctor spoke up again, clearly getting more impatient by the passing second.

“Is there anything else, Ms. Rarity?” He asked.

“Y…yes. Doctor, do…do you think that if she was never injured in the first place that she would have begun her, um, metamorphosis?” she inquired.

The doctor closed his eyes and sighed, as he turned to her and put his hoof on her shoulder.

“Look, Ms. Rarity, we don’t always have an answer for why things happen. It’s possible that she may have lived the rest of her days with the dormant DNA inside her if she was never hurt. It’s also possible that they unlocked themselves for an entirely different reason. Also, keep in mind that she was only back for one night before she was hurt, so the process may have already started, and we just hadn’t picked up on it yet,” he said softly.

“But…well…if you had to make an educated guess…” Rarity pressed.

“Well, with what little information we have, no, I don’t think her transformation would be taking place right now if she was never hurt, especially that badly. But, in all honestly, we just don’t know,” the doctor stated.

Rarity didn’t hear the last part of the statement as her stomach tied itself in knots. She needed to keep her composure. The healer didn’t seem to be making the connection, and mistook her questions as concern for her “friend.” She needed to get his mind on something else. She decided to stay in her wheelhouse.

“Thank you, doctor. Your wife is lucky to have such a knowledgeable and compassionate husband,” she said with a forced smile.

The doctor simply blushed and nodded his thanks before walking away. Rarity kept the smile up and waived a goodbye to him as he left. Once he turned the corner however, she collapsed. She needed to find a bathroom, and quickly. She turned and ran to the other end of the hall, where she was lucky enough to find one. She kicked the door open and ran into the stall, sticking her head in the toilet, as vomit careened into the basin. She couldn’t stop shaking as she felt another wave of nausea crash into her like an avalanche. Mercifully, her stomach stopped churning as she heaved violently.

‘I killed her, I killed her, it’s my fault, I killed her!’ She thought as she closed her eyes while hugging the cold white porcelain bowl.

-

Pinkie Pie raced down the hallway, her own tears streaming past her. Her face contorted in wild anger, as she paid no attention to the guards as they leapt out of her way. She wouldn’t stop. She had to keep going. It was getting hard to form thoughts of any kind as she galloped into the gardens, and towards the statues. Finally, she came to his statue. The god of chaos, himself wrapped and contained in hard stone. She knew what it really was, however. She knew it was a fake, and right now, she was so sad and angry, she didn’t care if the whole city of Canterlot knew the truth. She screamed his name at the top of her lungs, so loud that it was barely audible. Not waiting for a reaction, she screamed Discord’s name again. Nothing happened. Her emotions and fatigue from running so furiously finally caught up with her as she crashed to the ground.

“Come back! Please, you have to come back! I need you to make it right! Please. PLEASE!” She shouted, tears once again dripping from her eyes.

Again, nothing. He wasn’t here. She wished with all of her might for him to appear before her and solve this mess, but he wasn’t here. And he wasn’t coming, no matter how much she wanted him to. She hid her face in her front hooves as she sobbed quietly to herself. She didn’t know what to do. Once again, she was at a loss as to how she could help her friend. She felt worse than when Twilight came to see her when she first started to change so many months ago. She was helpless then, and she was helpless now. The realization hit her like a kick to her stomach. She curled herself into a ball, shivering as she wept.

‘What do I do, what do I do?’ She thought to herself over and over.

-

“Put those boxes over there, please,” Princess Celestia said as she motioned her hoof to the other side of the throne room.

The scientists complied as their magic covered the large crates, levitating them over towards the other side of the throne room. The court was bustling with activity, but not the kind of activity one would expect from a government administration. It looked more like a factory or industrial site, with unicorn scientists and doctors moving boxes and crates, setting up machines, wires and cables. Twilight was at her side the whole time, still in a daze at the flurry of activity taking place before her. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but it was quite impressive. Concentrating on the machines and technology moving about gave her a chance to take her mind off her situation, at least for a few minutes. If she kept lingering on what the doctors said, she thought she would lose control of herself and do something rash. She still didn’t really know how to process everything he told her. She felt like it wasn’t real, like she was outside of herself somehow, looking in on a horrible scene from a play. Suddenly, she felt a hoof caress her back, as she looked up to see the smiling face of her mentor. The alicorn’s smile quickly dropped as she turned back around. Twilight did the same, and eyes went wide as two very large crates came in. They were obviously heavy, whatever they were, as they were supported by both the magic of a few unicorn doctors and several royal soldiers who walked slowly carrying the boxes on their backs. As they set the bulky containers down, the princess stamped her right hoof against the ground hard, getting everyone’s attention.

“As of now, the throne room is a restricted area. Only scientists, doctors and Royal Guard officers will be allowed access. Guards will be posted outside every entrance and exit to this room, as well as the windows. They are to keep out everyone, including my sister, the remaining elements of harmony, and anyone else who is not whom I’ve just listed, unless given special permission by me. Also, if you do have access, you are not permitted to discuss anything that happens in this room outside of it. Is that clear?” she said in an even tone.

Everyone bowed, acknowledging their leader’s statement, and began filtering out, as their jobs were done. Once the space cleared, Twilight walked awkwardly over to the two huge unpacked crates. She turned to her mentor giving her an inquisitive look. The princess only answered her look of concern with a sad gaze of her own. Immediately, the unicorn became worriedly pensive.

“What’s in here, princess?”

“I told you, Twilight, this was going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. We need a solution. A cure for your condition, but if we cannot get to where we want through magic…” she trailed off, as she walked over to the crates with her horn aglow.

As the wooden walls of the containers gave way, Twilight’s eyes went wide as she viewed their contents. Her mouth went agape, as she tried to utter a sound. At first, nothing came out, but after a moment, she was screaming at the top of her lungs. She fell to the ground, shuffling away from the sight, a look of pure terror plastered on her face. All of the memories came flooding back to her at once. Her friends, what she did to them, Angel, Gummy, and the rest of the pets, and the hours upon hours spent trying desperately to delay the inevitable.

“Twilight. TWILIGHT!” Her mentor shouted as she grabbed the unicorn’s face with her hooves.

“We can do this. It’ll be alright. I kept all of your notes, including the book. We have everything we need. You just need to stay strong. I know you can do it. I’ll be here the whole time, at your side,” she whispered, trying to calm her whimpering apprentice.

Twilight tried to cry, but no more tears would come out. She’d have to do it again. The thing she dreaded almost as much as dying. She needed to pull herself out of this state, so she concentrated on her mentor’s words, and her breathing finally became even again. Princess Celestia hugged her tight as she whispered where her pupil’s ear used to be.

“Let’s get started, ok?” She said.

-

Fluttershy wandered the hallways of the castle, lost in thought. She took in so much today, and her mind was still sorting it out. She was scared, that’s for sure. Twilight was a confirmed monster again, and the thought of being in the same building, even the same town as her former friend frightened her. She started to calm down when she realized that the princess was never going to leave Twilight’s side during this whole ordeal. That fact made her feel a little better, but also a bit guilty. Twilight had been terrible to her and the rest of her friends, but the timid pegasus had finally started to forgive her for her transgressions, and yet here she was doing her best to avoid her. A mare she once called a friend was dying painfully, or at the very least, becoming a different creature altogether, and here she was trying her best to evade her and all because she was scared. Her fear frustrated her to no end. The worst part about her shyness was that she knew it. She knew she was timid and meek, and yet whenever she tried to overcome it, she may succeed in the short term, but she would then revert to her usual self just as quick. It began to infuriate her. She stopped her walk, as a loud noise from the other end of the hallway snapped her out of her contemplation. She began to move towards the noise, as she began to make out what sounded like construction. As the pegasus moved to the end of the hallway, she realized that she was standing in front of the throne room doors. Something was clearly going on. There were usually only two guards outside the ornate entrance, but now there were six, three on each side of the large doors. Their chiseled faces were quite intimidating, as they stood at attention. They didn’t say a word, and with each passing second she became more uncomfortable. She normally would have smiled and walked away, but for some reason, she didn’t. Her previous thoughts entered her mind as she mustered up all the courage she had.

‘No! This time, I’m not running away! I’ve stood my ground before, and I can do it again! It’s…it’s not like I’m in trouble or anything right? I’m just asking a question!’ She thought to herself.

Straightening up, and clearing her throat, she walked right up to one of the guards. The guard didn’t move, nor did his expression change.

“Umm, excuse me, but…well, I was just wondering what all that noise was about. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Fluttershy, but we are under strict orders not to discuss anything or let anyone inside the throne room until further notice,” he stated in an authoritative tone.

“One side!” A voice shouted from behind her.

The mare turned quickly as she saw a few unicorns with lab coats carrying a few small boxes with their magic trotting towards her. She squeaked as she jumped out of their way. As she looked up though, she realized that she didn’t need to as they all stopped in front of the guards. The lead guard and the head scientist exchanged slight nods, as the doors opened. She knew she shouldn’t look, but for once in her life, she was going to let curiosity get the better of her. With everything that had happened, she needed to know what was going on. She poked her head under the scientist’s legs, getting a clear view of the throne room. The guards seemed to be preoccupied with holding the doors open, so she was able to get a quick look inside the space. She got more intrigued as she saw Twilight in her new form reading a book, and Princess Celestia using her magic to lift some tools.

‘What are they doing?’ She thought as she turned her gaze to the left.

What she saw made her gasp and shuffle away, her back now to the wall. She saw them. The things that plagued her nightmares, pulled from the depths of her twisted dreams back into reality. Her breathing became labored as she brought her hoof to her chest. The guards closed the doors as soon as the scientists were within the walls. Once the doors were locked, and they turned around, the guard on the end heard the sound of heavy breathing and turned to his right.

“MS. FLUTTERSHY!” He shouted as he was kneeling in front of her in an instant.

Two more guards came over as the rest stood their post. The lead guard was trying to get her to calm down, but a foul smell soon hit them right in their nostrils as they looked down to see a clear liquid seep out between her legs, soiling the ornate carpet that decorated the floor. All but the lead guard backed away from the petrified mare. Their leader, however, stayed with her, whispering in her ear, as he used his hoof to caress her back, doing whatever he could to get her to calm down. Finally, she seemed to utter a word. It was soft, and barely audible. He needed to help her, but he needed to know what was wrong.

“Fluttershy, it’s ok, you’re safe here. What did you see?” He said softly.

“T…t…telepod!”

-

Hey, everyone! So, another chapter in the books! I hope everyone is enjoying it so far! Also, I forgot to mention, I went to the Big Apple Ponycon this year, and I met Andrea Libman! Very nice and very classy lady! Anyway, happy reading!