Twilight was the first to leave the treatment room. Unlike her friends, her wounds were healing rapidly on their own, and she would never succumb to them. Not only were they much too minor, but she also was an alicorn, an immortal being, at least if she believed her mother. Something that had been hard for her during the last few hours.

Now that they were all safe, she could only now begin to handle what her mother had kept secret from her: a brother, one whose statue she had passed by without a second glance on so many occasions, killed by her aunt. Sure, she knew that one alicorn could kill another, but she had never heard of that happening. As far as she knew, there were only five alicorns, six if Skyla was included. Seven was a magical number. Genius spirits like Starswirl had said that it had incredible magical powers. Seven alicorns. That was a number that found use in many spells and circles. According to many tales, it was an inseparable number, even though that was mostly due to its mathematical properties.

Absentminded as she was, Twilight hadn’t even realized her hooves had led her through the quiet hallways of the hospital on their own, passing one room after another, trotting by wagons with medicinal equipment, ointments, and other remedies and directly towards an elevator that led into the upper floors of the building. Only as the short ride ended she noticed where her hooves had been carrying her. She stood in the department for other species. She wanted to speak with someone about what had happened, someone who could understand her conclusions. The human, as strange as it was to admit that, had turned out to be that one. Not only that, but he had also claimed to have spoken with Blue Light. If there had not been the cutie mark on his shoulders, she would have had troubles believing that, even after all that she had experienced and seen.

As she walked by, she threw a look inside an open office where a familiar scent came from, that of a human who hadn’t taken a bath in a long while. She put her head through the open door and looked inside. It was like a normal doctor’s office, with a desk and shelves filled with medicine books, except for the sleeping Amaryllis, who had buried Thiemo like a plushie underneath her and used him as a pillow, mattress, and blanket. At least that was what it looked like since she was fighting with her shoulders to keep his hands on her back.

“Cute, those two, aren’t they?” Twilight turned around and looked at dark skin framed by white cloth. Slowly, her eyes went up a bit where two brown eyes were awaiting her. “Excuse me, Princess, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Twilight took a step back, inside the office, and took a good look at her collocutor. She was a human, like Thiemo, but definitely female. If not for her voice, then her significantly different body form made it clear. Her skin was darker, like chocolate, and her hair was shoulder-length and black as well. A red dot on her forehead stood out.

“Uhm… it’s alright, Miss…?” The woman in the scrub stopped for a moment and then looked down at the scrub.

“Oh! Hold on.” She searched with her fingers in the breast pocket of the scrub and pulled out a name plate that she pinned to the cloth. “My name is Meena, and I am the head of the department here.” She reached out a hand which Twilight shook timidly. “What can I do for you, your Highness?”

“Twilight Sparkle, and nothing for me directly.” Twilight shook her head. “I just wanted to check on Thiemo and Amaryllis.” The two looked over to the sleeping couple.

“Ah, so you have been travelling here with these two?” Twilight wondered as to how she came to that conclusion until she followed her eyes. Many of her wounds were still not completely healed. “Then you can maybe tell me a little bit about him. I couldn’t help but notice—” she waved around the air with one hand “– his unique characteristics. He told me a bit while I treated his shoulder.”

“What? You are working in your condition?” The doctor looked at her questioningly. “Uhm, you know.” Twilight pointed weakly at her breasts.

“Oh? No, I’m not pregnant. Unlike ponies, human breasts are always so distinct.”

Twilight stammered a few words. “I’m sorry, I…”

“No need to apologize. Few busy themselves with our species.” The doctor grinned, put both hands into pockets at her scrubs, and leaned forward a bit. “And my husband hasn’t complained so far.” Twilight’s gaze wandered over to her right wrist where a golden circlet stood out. Her eyes widened. She was married to a pony. No other species used that custom, and according to the seal on it, she was also the alphamare. “I’d be happy to continue the conversation, but I wanted to put these two into a real bed first.”

Twilight shook herself out of her thoughts and looked past the doctor down the hallway. “Sure, one moment.” With ease, she lifted the sleeping two from the couch and set them down on a bed. “And what are we doing with them now?”

“We? Well, I will take our human friend here and run some further tests. I know that magic can cause temporary mutations, but permanent?” She licked her lips. “That’s something new.”

“Transmutation,” Twilight corrected. “Permanent magical mutations are being called transmutations.”

“An expert?”

“Princess of Magic.”

“Alright, Princess. Would you be open for a few nightly experiments?”

The alicorn grinned over both ears.

They leaned over the table and inspected the subject. “Scissors,” Meena gave the toneless order to her assistant, who levitated the desired object into her hand without looking at the tray. The doctor positioned the scissors but was interrupted.

“Stop! Won’t he be angry if we destroy his clothes?” The eyes of both females looked over the sleeping creatures. “Yes, alright, they are rags, but he seemed to like his coat.”

The doctor sighed and put down the scissors. “If you say so, Princess. Personally, and from a completely fashionable point of view, I’d say we are doing him a favour. I mean orange? Please.” Twilight giggled. “What?”

“Well, my friend Rarity would surely have said the same.” Meena just shrugged and went halfway around the operation table. She pulled out the tail of her victim, measured off a bit of hair with her fingers, and cut it off. Twilight gave her a bowl where she placed the hairs and scissors. “So, if we want to continue, these clothes have to get off.” Both looked at each other.

“What?” Twilight asked confused. “You are the doctor.”

“And you are equally curious as I am, Princess.” Both continued to look at each other for a few more seconds, then there was a flash of light and the clothes were gone. “Wasn’t so hard, was it? What did you do with them?” The alicorn stepped aside and revealed the sight on a chair behind her where the rags now hung. “Ah…”

“The subject has two identical symbols on his shoulders, similar to the emblem of ponies. No ink, no colour. The two symbols are two crescents facing each other; both are white and only contrast in colour from his skin.” Meena took the magnifying glass closer to him. “The hair, which are growing in said area, have taken the same colour as the symbol. Taking a sample now.” With some tweezers, she carefully removed one hair at its root. “Do you have everything, Princess?”

Twilight, with a notepad and quill levitating in front of her, nodded.

“The tail is growing directly out of the upper sacral. Pelvic structure seemed to have adapted to the change.” Meena pushed a bit stronger with her gloved hand along the spine. “No other unusual features. Spine and pelvis are still humanoid as far as I can tell.”

“Wouldn’t it be simple to scan him with a spell? Doesn’t the hospital have the necessary equipment?” The doctor looked up from the human lying on his stomach.

“Sure, do you want to fill out the paper where the patient signed his agreement?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What? He didn’t consent to this?” The notepad fell to the ground. “That’s a crime! What are we doing? When Cadance finds out. Or worse! My mother! That would be a scandal. He could sue us.”

“Calm down. We don’t have an agreement for the scan, but he is my patient and entrusted to my care. I’m obliged to check him for possible injuries.” Her words worked, and Twilight sighed in relief. “This is more than we would usually do, but who cares.” She continued to palpate his ribs. “Bruises, but nothing serious,” she mumbled quickly. “Also, after all that he told me, he would surely want some answers too.”

“And?” asked the doctor impatiently while Twilight quickly checked something with a spell.

“Well, he has magic in his body, that much is obvious,” the Princess said with her eyes closed. “But no magical system like an earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn. It’s just there, like he is a hollow space that needs to be filled.”

“Could that have any consequences?”

“Well, the magical systems of ponies also works like a fuse. Due to the many magical lines that run through our bodies, a magical shock will spread out instead of unleashing all its power in one spot. All the tribes have that, but it stronger in earth ponies than in others. It makes them very resilient. It’s impossible to say what would happen if a spell goes wrong with him, or if he would be unfortunately hit by one. I have never read about something like that.”

“He can cast spells?”

“Not directly. He has no horn or similar catalyst to cast spells. At least none in his body. However, if he would fill one of his gems with energy, which he is very much capable of, it could cause problems…” She gulped. “Basically anything could happen.”

“And the other scenario?”

“If another magic user hits him with a spell? No idea!” She finished her spell and opened her eyes. “Like I said, I have never read about something like that before. His magic could spiral out of control. It could cause a chain reaction. The magic could also be caught and absorbed by his own. Without tests, I can’t be sure.”

Meena closed the door that led to the room of Amaryllis and Thiemo behind her and sighed. “Well, that was insightful, and it only took us half the night.” Both looked at the clock at the wall and sighed. “Then there is only the problem with your niece.”

Twilight grinned. “Actually, I already have a solution. At least I think so.” Meena crossed her arms. “She is taking in emotions through her natural aura. Every creature has an aura, an important part of their soul. Many mistake it with the magical aura, which can be seen by some gifted and skilful magicians. But they are two completely different things. Both are connected with the soul in one way…” Twilight stopped as she saw the woman’s head falling over. Just as her body was about to follow, she awoke with a start. She looked at Twilight and grinned sheepishly.

“Coffee?” Meena asked and both got moving.

“So, about Amaryllis. I think the easiest would be to slightly modify a magic blocker. Just so that it blocks a different aura. She wouldn’t be able to eat while wearing it, but it would at least stop her from acting so… yeah. At least until she learns to adapt to this dose.”

“Like I said, Princess, I am no expert in magic but for species that are not called ponies, be it diamond dogs, minotaurs or, humans. But,we only had two hours about changelings in school. Only the roughest basics. Still, I think it is worth a shot.

They entered the cafeteria: a small room with a fridge, a sink, and everything needed to make coffee. One table was low and had cushions lying around it. The other was larger and chairs stood next to it, clearly made for humans. Meena immediately went to make the desired drink while Twilight took a seat at the smaller table.

Suddenly, a rumble came from the hallway. Both looked at each other quickly as a pony burst into the room. The crystal stallion wore the armour of the palace and seemed to be completely out of breath. “Princess…. Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Uhm… yes?”

“A letter from her Majesty. She immediately wrote it after Sir Spike brought us the happy news.” Twilight levitated the letter from the small bag that the stallion wore around his neck and opened it.

Hello Twilight,

Spike just brought us the good news. I can’t tell you how excited we all are. Shining has been running up and down for the past days. Please tell her that we would like to welcome her tomorrow bright and early. The human too. Of course, you and your friends are invited as well, but you have to understand that we want to speak to them first.

Best regards,

Cadance

Author's Notes:

No music this time, take a picture instead. If you want to hear the story behind the picture, just read my last blog entry.

And with that, chapter three is done.

Like I said, chapter 4 is a lot of slice and life. You will get a short preview (if you want) when you're looking at the next cover picture that I will publish shortly after this.

If you have questions, ask. You want bring something to my attention? Do so!

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

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