Magical Mystery Couture

Chapters

Morning in Ponyville Shimmers
It's Got to be My Destiny
Oh, My... What a Terrible Dream I Had
Or... Maybe I'm Still Having It

Morning in Ponyville Shimmers

Rarity trotted out the door of Carousel Boutique, adorned in her latest fashion creation. It was a simple cocktail dress, but the way she had draped the fabric like made her flank look absolutely spectacular. Normally she wouldn’t wear white against her white coat, but this dress… oh, this dress was simply to die for!

That was when she felt the first drops of rain. Rain alone could have amounted to a disaster, since rain and white clothing never mesh well except in the minds of certain lecherous stallions. However, when she realized that it was raining chocolate milk (again), staining her masterpiece with brown polka dots, Rarity could not help but scream in frustration and outrage. Of all of the worst possible things, this was the worst. Possible. THING!

Obviously, it meant that Discord was misbehaving again. She would have to have a word with him, or Fluttershy if the draconequus wouldn’t listen. Her soaking wet cocktail dress now brown and sticky, Rarity angrily stormed off in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. While Discord did not actually reside there, it was the most logical location in Ponyville to find him. Not that the Spirit of Chaos was wont to follow logic.

Suddenly, Rarity's path was blocked by a bouncing pink pony.

“Good morning, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie squealed in a gleeful manner that grated like hooves on a chalkboard against Rarity's current state of mind. “Is that a new dress? It looks delicious!” The pink mare tilted her head back and let the chocolate rain fall into her mouth.

“It was a new dress," Rarity huffed, shaking her mane, "and now it’s ruined, thanks to Discord. I’m on my way there to give him a piece of my mind right now.” Her mane was starting to clump together due to the sticky chocolate.

“That big meanie,” Pinkie concurred. “Who does he think he is ruining my friend’s dress? Although, just between you and I, you probably shouldn’t have worn white outside when the weather ponies are calling for chocolate rain.” She licked her lips in ecstasy.

“I’ll keep that in mind after I tell Discord to make it stop,” Rarity replied sarcastically. “I don’t care if he is the Spirit of Chaos, he simply cannot just make chocolate rain whenever he has the urge to drink a glass.”

“Oh, Discord isn’t the one who made it rain today,” Pinkie Pie told her. Her smile stretched from ear to ear, as if she were proud of a great accomplishment.

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity said with a raised eyebrow.

“It was in the forecast this morning. I confirmed it with the rest of the weather team.”

Something about the way Pinkie said “the rest of the weather team” did not register properly with Rarity. She was not sure what drew her attention to Pinkie Pie’s flank (perhaps she was subconsciously imagining how the pink party pony would look in her chocolate-stained dress... brown was the new pink, after all), but what she observed there made her gasp.

“Ooh, that was a good one. It was almost as good as the sound I made on the first day I met Twilight Sparkle.”

“Pinkie Pie, what happened to your cutie mark?” Rarity cried in astonishment. Indeed, Pinkie Pie sported a cutie mark that was normally associated with a certain future Wonderbolt.

“Silly filly, my cutie mark has looked like this since the day I performed the Sonic Rainboom™." Pinkie Pie laughed heartily. "You saw it yourself when I won the annual Running of the Leaves.”

“I… er… that is… um…” Rarity was at a loss for words. This was absurd. “Maybe it isn’t Discord that I need to have words with after all. I’ll… talk to you later, Pinkie Pie.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie smiled, and went back to drinking the rain.

Rarity noticed that in addition to producing the cocoa confection, the pink cotton candy clouds occasionally blasted out dollops of whipped cream like lightning bolts. If Pinkie Pie was truly controlling the weather somehow, she had managed to improve on Discord’s original design, the alabaster unicorn observed.

“Wait, what am I thinking?” Rarity cried, facehoofing. “Something really strange is going on. I must find Twilight Sparkle.”

Once again, Rarity changed directions and galloped toward the library. Upon reaching her destination, she was surprised when Applejack poked her head out.

“Rarity! What can I do ya for, sugarcube? A book of patterns for your dresses?” Applejack held up a copy of Always a Bridlemaid, Never a Bride: a Guide to Fashioning Formal Dresses That You Can Shorten and Wear Again.

“Actually, I was looking for Twilight Sparkle. There's something strange going on with... is that a new Stetson?" Rarity asked. Applejack's regular hat was brown, but the one she currently sported was navy blue. Rarity cringed at how it clashed against the farmer's coat.

"Ya like it? I need to give it some alterations still, but it's gonna look great," Applejack smiled proudly.

"Of... course," Rarity said noncommittally, trying her best not to blurt out how much of an affront to fashion the new chapeau really was. "Is Twilight upstairs? I simply must speak with her."

“Sorry Rares, I haven’t seen her today,” Applejack admitted. “Have you checked her cottage?”

“Her… cottage?” Rarity gasped again when Applejack opened the door a little further, revealing a star pattern cutie mark that on a normal day would have belonged to the purple unicorn.

“If she’s not there, she might be off somewhere with Spike,” the orange mare offered as a second possibility. “I hope you don’t mind, I gotta get back to my studyin’ for the Princess. I'll catch you later, Rarity. I like the new dress, by the way.”

The door closed, leaving a very confused white mare standing there awkwardly in her ruined dress in the chocolate rain. Suddenly she was doused with a dollop of whipped cream from the nearest cloud. She heard snickering and saw a wisp of rainbow colored mane poking over the edge.

“I got you so good, Rarity. You should have seen the look on your face,” the Columbia Blue Pegasus chortled.

“Rainbow Dash, if my dress weren’t already a mess of sticky... stickiness, I’d…” Rarity fumed. She didn't actually know what she'd do to Rainbow Dash, but she had a couple of possibilities in mind. One involved punishment via waterboarding, and the other involved some form of torture like a hooficure.

“Relax, it was just a harmless prank,” Dash said nonchalantly, snapping Rarity out of her daydream. "Have a sense of humor for a change."

“At least you’re still normal,” the white unicorn muttered. “Something has gone terribly wrong in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie controls the weather, and Applejack is… studying. Please tell me that you still want to be a Wonderbolt.”

“Of course!” Rainbow Dash squealed with glee. “I went through the Academy and everything!”

“Thank Celestia,” Rarity sighed with relief.

“They have an opening for a new catering chef," Rainbow continued. "With my expertise in the kitchen, I’m going to be the best cook the Wonderbolts ever had!”

The purple maned unicorn facehoofed for the third time that morning. If there was ever a need for her fainting couch, now was certainly the time.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Rarity? You’re acting weird,” the colorful pegasus asked with a touch of concern.

“I’ll be better when I see Twilight Sparkle so she can sort this mess out,” Rarity muttered.

“Oh, it’s not that bad. I’m sure the chocolate rain will wash right out of it. The draping makes your flank look spectacular, if you don’t mind me saying so,” Dash added as she flew off, probably to prank another unsuspecting pony with whipped cream lightning strikes. Rarity took note of the fact that the pegasus’ cutie mark was now a set of three balloons, two blue and one yellow, and shook her head. She had a sinking feeling that this was not going to get any easier.

In order to get to Fluttershy’s cottage (or was it now Twilight’s cottage?), Rarity needed to pass by the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. She saw a familiar pale yellow Pegasus hovering in front of some of the apple trees. After what she had already witnessed with her other three friends, it did not surprise her to see three apples had replaced Fluttershy’s cutie mark.

“Now… um… just like we practiced, Angel Bunny,” she cooed to the white rabbit, who pouted and crossed his paws. “Pretty please?” she begged.

Angel gave an audible sigh and kicked the nearest tree hard, causing a number of apples to fall into the bushel of the waiting pegasus.

“Thank you so much,” she praised the rabbit, giving him a carrot, and then turned to see Rarity watching her. “Oh, hello Rarity. I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

“Are you… using Angel to buck apples?” Rarity asked in wonder.

“Oh, yes. I’ve tried doing it myself, but I just don’t have it in me the same way that Big MacIntosh does. It was rather frustrating,” the yellow Pegasus explained, getting into position, and giving the tree the puniest tap Rarity had ever witnessed. “Normally I wouldn’t even be out here, but Big MacIntosh strained his ribs again, and these apples aren’t going to buck themselves.”

“It.. is rather clever, I suppose,” Rarity acquiesced.

“I like your dress. You look so wonderful in brown. Is it new?” Fluttershy asked.

“It was,” the unicorn replied crossly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that…”

“No, it’s not your fault. It's... actually rather complicated. I hate to rush away, but I was just passing through. I have an urgent matter that requires Twilight Sparkle’s attention. It was good to see you, Fluttershy,” Rarity finished, trying her best to assure her timid friend that her current state of mind was not in any way Fluttershy's fault.

“Oh, all right. Take care, Rarity.” Fluttershy said with a small smile as she went back to coaxing Angel to kick more apples down from the various trees.

Rarity continued down the path to where Fluttershy lived... or where she used to live, and Twilight Sparkle was apparently now living. She hoped Twilight was “home” and not off in the Everfree Forest or doing Celestia only knew what else. She cautiously approached Fluttershy’s cottage. Or Twilight’s cottage… this cutie mark crisis was making her head spin. In any case, nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the outside, but she felt a terrible chill run down her spine when she raised her hoof to knock on the door.

Steady, Rarity, she thought. It’s only Twilight Sparkle. She also lives in a tree. Yes, that’s it. You’re really entering the library, and this is just an illusion of Fluttershy’s cottage. She’ll dispel the illusion and everything will go back to nor—

“Spike, is that you?” Twilight called from inside.

“Erm…” Rarity blurted. “I mean, it’s me, Twilight. I need to speak with you; we’ve a bit of a situation here…”

Twilight opened the door. Sure enough, she had Fluttershy’s cutie mark. While it did not suit the lavender unicorn as well as her real cutie mark, the pink butterflies did go well with her mane…

“Are you all right, Rarity?” Twilight asked, puzzled.

“Twilight, everything’s wrong. I don’t know how it happened, but we need to fix it!” Rarity exclaimed dramatically as she looked for a nice soft couch to faint on.

“I don’t understand, you’re not making any sense, Rarity,” Twilight chuckled nervously.

A second voice called out from across the room.

“I daresay, do we have another guest for our tea party?”

Rarity recognized the speaker immediately, and her heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t sure whether she should be elated or ready to kick the speaker’s flank. She decided on a third option, which involved calming down and speaking with Twilight Sparkle rationally.

“So… Twilight, you and Discord were having tea?”

“It seemed a bit odd to me when he showed up, too, but I guess Fluttershy was busy today,” Twilight replied with a guilty smile.

“I see,” Rarity said flatly. “Well, I wouldn’t want to impose—“

Twilight grabbed Rarity rather roughly, her expression suddenly wild with terror.

“It’s no trouble at all!” She said loudly (and rather woodenly, as if she wanted Discord to hear), and then dropped her volume to a hiss. “Please don’t leave me alone with him. He’s driving me crazy!”

“Um… yes. Of course, darling,” Rarity murmured. The two unicorns trotted in awkward silence into the dining room, where Discord sat upside down at a table on the ceiling.

“Rarity!” the draconequus beamed. “How lovely it is for you to join us. Would you care for a Spot of tea?” The upside down teapot yapped at her like a puppy. “Good Spot,” Discord said, mussing with the lid of the teapot as if it were fur.

“I… er… tend to prefer my tea right side up, thank you,” Rarity replied.

“Oh, come on, you’re a unicorn. Put that horn of yours to some use and join me up here. Aren’t I the one you’ve really been looking for?”

“I just remembered that I have to do that thing with the feeding of the chickens to the books…” Twilight rambled, and dashed away faster than Rarity could blink. Discord watched Twilight leave with amusement.

“Now that we’re alone, isn’t there something you wished to ask me?” the draconequus purred, his voice dripping with saccharine.

“Well, I suppose there’s no point in beating around the proverbial bush,” Rarity lamented. “Discord, I want you to put my friends’ cutie marks back on where they belong.”

Discord laughed. It wasn’t an evil laugh, as far as laughs go, but it still wasn’t a particularly nice laugh. Rarity could definitely detect an air of condescension in it.

“What’s so funny?” She asked crossly.

“Why, Rarity, after all of this time, you still don’t trust me. While I appreciate that you didn’t try to butter me up before accusing me of being the cause of your current woes, there are a few reasons that I must naturally decline your request.” Discord raised his paw and began counting.

“First,” he held up one digit, “since it was not my magic that brought about your dilemma, it is not within my power to correct it.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at that statement. “It is not within you power?” She asked skeptically.

“Well, all right, is within my power, but that leads me to point number two.” Discord raised two digits on his paw. “Even if I could ‘change your friends back, I’m having fun watching the chaos unfold. Nice dress, by the way.”

“Discord, you put things back the way they were before or so help me—“

“Are you two ok in there?” Twilight called from outside. “You’d better not be fighting in there.”

“Everything’s peachy, Twilight Sparkle!” Discord lied in a sing-songy voice.

“Yes,” Rarity reluctantly agreed. “We were just… um…”

“Rehearsing,” Discord offered.

“Rehearsing. Um. Yeah. For the Ponyville talent show this evening. It’s a duet called ‘Put Things Back the Way They Were Before or So Help Me’ that I’m doing with Sweetie Belle. You know how she’s always making a mess in my workshop,” Rarity embellished.

Twilight didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Well, it certainly sounds interesting. I’m sorry that I’m going to miss it. I have to pick Spike up at the train station. He’s off on Royal Canterlot business right now,” the lavender unicorn explained. “Well, don’t mind me, you two get back to rehearsing.”

“I can’t believe she actually bought that,” Discord chortled.

“I can’t believe that you’re breaking your promise to Fluttershy and the Princess,” Rarity accused.

“I’m not breaking anything,” Discord argued, a hurt expression flashing across his face. “Just because I didn’t cause this particular bit of chaos doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy it while it lasts. I do appreciate other artists’ work from time to time, you know. That was point number…” he tried counting on his paw again, extra phalanges appearing out of nowhere when it looked like he should have run out. “Well, in any case, just because I’m Fluttershy’s friend doesn’t mean that I have to help you.”

“Then won’t you help her?" Rarity begged, attempting to do her best impression of Sweetie Belle’s eyes when she really, really wanted something.

“My dear Rarity, like it or not, I simply cannot be your deus ex machina this time around. You’re going to have to find another way. Besides, above all else, there is one reason that stands out above all others, one that you of all ponies should have known better than to forget,” Discord cooed.

“And what, pray tell, would this reason be?” Rarity asked, her impatience getting the better of her.

“Why, you didn’t say ‘please.’” Discord replied flippantly. “Now I’m a very busy draconequus, and Twilight is out of tea, so if you’ll excuse me, I must take my leave. Arrivederci!”

Before Rarity could protest, Discord made a snapping sound with his left claws and vanished. Twilight casually strolled back in from whatever she had been doing outdoors.

“Oh, did Discord leave?” she asked Rarity while humming.

“Yes, he said you were out of tea,” Rarity answered absently, as the table Discord had been sitting at crashed to the floor.

“I’m sorry for dashing off like that, but I remembered that the chickens needed to be fed, and it’s important to keep them on the correct schedule,” Twilight tried to explain.

"He was… not particularly helpful anyway,” Rarity decided bitterly. “I don’t suppose you could send a letter to Princess Celestia for me?”

“Sorry, Rarity. Spike’s the one with the magical fire, not me,” Twilight looked down at her hooves. “It this talent show really so important that you need Celestia’s help?”

“What? I mean…” Rarity looked around the cottage and changed the subject. “Is that the feeding schedule that you mentioned before?” A massive spreadsheet dominated the living room wall.

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I have every animal categorized by age, weight, size, and diet. No critter will go hungry as long as I stick to this little work of genius. I’ve even got some bells and whistles set up to remind me just in case.”

“It’s certainly something, darling.” Rarity agreed. “Although I’m not exactly sure I’d call it ‘little’…” she muttered under her breath. A bell chimed.

“Oh dear, that means it’s time to feed Harry. He gets grumpy if I’m late… do you mind?”

“Not at all, Twilight. You just do what… you do best.” The words caught in Rarity’s throat a bit as she tried to say them.

Leaving Twilight to perform Fluttershy’s duties, Rarity pondered the situation as she trotted back to Carousel Boutique. None of her friends seemed particularly upset by their altered destinies. Why, then was she getting so worked up about it. Nopony had really gotten hurt by any of it. Well, there was her dress, but maybe Pinkie Pie was right about checking the weather report before wearing white. Rainbow Dash still wanted to be a Wonderbolt. Applejack was studying. It wasn’t like she was summoning Cthulhu in the library’s basement. Even Fluttershy seemed to have adapted well enough.

Maybe I’m being irrational. This change could be a good thing, Rarity thought. Who am I to say that they should change back, anyway?

There was a crack of thunder and Rarity was doused with an immense dollop of whipped cream.

Oh, yeah. There’s that. I won’t be able to deal with that for much longer. I suppose I can wait until Spike gets back, at the very least. There’s only so much trouble my friends can get into in one night…

It's Got to be My Destiny

The mayor approached the microphone. Tapping her hoof against it in an apparent sound check, the resulting screech of feedback caused everypony in the audience to wince. Fluttershy in particular, as well as a few other sensitive individuals put their hooves over their ears in an attempt to block out the cacophonous clamor. Finally, the noise petered out, and the mayor began to speak.

“Thank you, everypony, for coming to the third annual Amateur Night. As you know, this night has been set up by our own Cheerilee to benefit the children of Ponyville and help them develop their special talents, whatever they may be, by showcasing some of our own. Tonight’s first act will be the… um… Incomparable… Rainbow Dash!”

There was some polite hoof clopping as the Pegasus sailed through the curtain, skidding to a halt at the microphone.

“Well, she certainly makes an entrance,” Rarity murmured to nopony in particular. “Same old Rainbow Dash in that respect.”

“Thank you, fillies and gentlecolts. I just flew in from Cloudsdale and gosh, are my wings tired!”

Rarity cringed. She swore she could hear crickets chirping.

“I see my friend Derpy in the crowd. Say hi to everypony, Derpy!”

“Hi to everypony, Derpy!” said Ditzy Doo, grinning and waving. That drew a couple of chuckles from the crowd. Maybe Dash just needed to warm up a bit.

“So my friend Derpy walked into Berry Punch’s bar and said ‘ouch.’ She walked into the bar a second time and said ‘ouch.’ The third time she walked around it.”

Ditzy Doo laughed. Rarity noticed she was the only pony doing so.

“A parasprite flew into the bar and asked ‘Is the bar tender here?’”

Groans. Rarity could hear Roseluck whispering “Puns… the horror… the horror…”

“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Ditzy called out. “Why don’t you tell the one you told me earlier about how I’m dyslexic, so I walked into a bra?”

“I can’t now,” the blue pegasus deadpanned, facehoofing. “You just gave away the punchline.”

The crowd roared with laughter. Rarity couldn't help but notice that the other ponies seemed to be finding Ditzy funnier than Dash. Perhaps what Rainbow needed was somepony like Ditzy or Pinkie Pie to bounce her jokes off of while Rainbow played the "straight mare." That tactic always worked for Birnbaum and Gracie in the old days. She wondered what sort of reaction Pinkie Pie would be getting right now if she were up there like she was supposed to be. She had to find some way to give her friends their proper destinies back. But how was she going to do that if Twilight Sparkle was unwilling to use her magic?

“…and the stallion said ‘Rectum? Dang near killed ‘em!’” Dash finished her latest joke to a chorus of boos that snapped Rarity out of her daydream. “Aw, come on, everypony loves that one…”

“Thank you very much, Rainbow Dash,” the mayor said gently. There had been a sale on tomatoes at the farmer’s market earlier that day, so the political figurehead was quick to escort her off of the stage before some of the rowdier members of the audience began throwing various produce at the failed comedian.

“Our next act features a quintet gracious enough to come here all the way from Canterlot—“

Pokey Pierce, the Mayor’s assistant galloped onto the stage, hoofing her a note card and whispering something.

“Oh, there have been some minor substitutions. Three of the five instrumentalists performing for you next hail from Canterlot. Some of you may recognize Octavia on the cello, Frederick Horseshoepin on the Grand Piano, and Beauty Brass on the Sousaphone. Due to illness, Ponyville’s own Fiddlesticks will be substituting for Symphony on the violin, and Lyra Heartstirings will be playing the harp in the place of Harpo Parish Nadermane.”

“Lyre!” Bon Bon hissed from the audience.

“No, I’m telling you the truth. It says so right here on this card,” the Mayor asserted. “The selection they will be performing for us tonight is entitled ‘Walkürenritt,’” the mayor finished. The audience applauded. Rainbow Dash quietly took a seat at the table next to Rarity.

“Ugh… that couldn’t have gone worse,” she muttered.

“You tried your best, darling,” Rarity reassured her. “It wasn’t completely atrocious.”

“That’s just how what I want my name in Ponyville to be—the Not Completely Atrocious Rainbow Dash,” the colorful Pegasus moped.

“Aw… cheer up Rainbow Dash,” said Ditzy with a comforting smile and a roll of her eyes. “The crowd laughed a little bit.”

“They laughed at your bits more than mine. I just don’t know what went wrong,” Dash sighed.

“The program says that Carrot Top is doing her routine after this,” Rarity noticed.

“Yeah, maybe you can pick up some ideas from her for next time,” Ditzy added.

“Carrot Top’s shtick is nothing but a bunch of props,” Dash whispered.

“Our next performers call themselves 'The Sisters Doo,'” announced Mayor Mare.

“Hey, that’s my girls!” Ditzy said with a squee.

“What, you forgot that they signed up for this?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The Sisters Doo will be singing a song by the artist Carrie Oakey,” the Mayor continued.

“I’ve never heard of this Oakey character,” Rarity whispered. “Maybe Sweetie Belle has some of her albums.”

“Um, Rarity, it was a typo on the card,” Rainbow Dash groaned. “They’re going to be singing karaoke.”

“Oh, that explains a lot,” Rarity replied, her face brightening. Then she realized the ramifications, and she winced, in spite of herself.

Dinky Doo bowed nervously, almost striking the microphone as she did. Sparkler, her older sister, trotted up behind her.

"We dedicate this song to Mommy," Dinky said simply, and they both began to harmonize.

So show me family

Living in the Everfree

I don’t know where I belong

I don’t know just what went wrong

But I can try to write a song

I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweet muffin!

“I never knew Sparkler had such a lovely voice,” Roseluck commented as the sisters continued on stage.

“You weren’t at Winter Wrap up?” Rainbow Dash snickered.

“Yeah, but it's one thing to sing in a group like that, and quite another to do it on stage,” Roseluck continued.

Rarity glanced over at Ditzy Doo, who was looking at her precious children with tear filled eyes. Despite one of those eyes being a little off kilter, it was still enough of a "d'aaaw" moment to force Rarity to look away before she started crying herself.

It was not a particularly lengthy song, so once Dinky and Sparkler finished, the Mayor came back out onto the stage. Looking at her note cards, she cleared her throat with a harrumph.

“Our next performer will be Silver Spoon. It doesn’t say what she will be doing, so we’ll just have to let her speak for herself. Silver Spoon, everypony!”

A smattering of light applause rumbled from the audience. Rarity found herself clenching her jaw a bit, recognizing the filly from some of the stories Sweetie Belle had told her. While Silver Spoon was not the instigator in most cases, she was often an accomplice. She was friends with Diamond Tiara, who was often the main antagonist. Rarity wondered which part of being a bully was worse: the perpetrator, or the lackey who goads them on.

Silver Spoon looked nervous, and Rarity chided herself for her negative thoughts. Right now, this filly was out of her element, and it took courage to get up on stage to perform… whatever it was she was about to do. Especially considering that Silver Spoon had most likely seen how Rainbow Dash had been booed off of the stage earlier.

“I… um…” Her eyes wide, pupils dilated, Silver Spoon stuttered, unsure of how to proceed.

“It’s ok, honey. Just like you practiced,” called a soothing voice from the crowd. Rarity could not see who the pony was, but guessed that it was most likely the filly’s mother.

Breathing deeply and letting loose a massive calming sigh, Silver Spoon closed her eyes, set her jaw, gulped, and began to perform.

She held a pair of spoons in each of her front hooves, and began drumming them on every available surface, alternating between her knees, the stage floor, a chair, her shoulders, tapping out a cadence that got Rarity’s foot moving along with the beat. Then, just as Rarity was starting to wonder whether this would be the whole act, she started to juggle them, still tapping out her rhythm, tossing, crisscrossing, and manipulating the musical flatware in a mesmerizing dance across the stage.

Silver Spoon had somehow added a fifth piece to her ensemble, which she was now balancing on the end of her nose, to her audience’s delight. Her tempo increased, the titillating tap-tap-tapping tantalizing everypony with its intricacy. Faster and faster she played, accelerating little by little as she crept towards her climax. With a nod, she flung the five spoons into the air one by one, letting each plummet to the stage and catching it after the first bounce. Silver Spoon then struck a pose, spreading the five instruments out in her right hoof like a fan and holding them up in front of her face.

She held the pose for ten heartbeats, as nopony in the audience dared to break the silence. Finally Ditzy Doo began to clap, slowly. She was quickly joined by Rarity and the rest of the audience as Silver Spoon curtsied on the stage.

“So that’s what Silver Spoon’s cutie mark means,” Rarity mused. She would have to tell Sweetie Belle about this. Maybe it would inspire her sister to try something less… messy with the other Crusaders for a change.

Speaking of change, Pinkie Pie was up next, and it looked like she was playing every single instrument that the Canterlot group had used all at the same time. The more things change...

~ M M C ~

Rarity paced back and forth in her bedroom, unable to concentrate on anything. Why was she the only pony who seemed to believe anything was wrong? She needed to have Spike write to Princess Celestia. Surely the Princess would have some sort of explanation for all of this, wouldn’t she? She had stayed up all night going over and over the various explanations for it all, but nothing seemed to make sense.

Rarity flopped down upon her bed in despair. Of all of the worst possible—

Wait a minute.

She remembered. It seemed trivial at the time, but how could she have forgotten?

Two nights ago she had been visiting Twilight Sparkle at the library, and Ditzy Doo had shown up with a package for her from Princess Celestia…

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

The spell contained on the last page of this book is Star Swirl the Bearded’s final masterpiece~

“Ooh!” both Rarity and Twilight had gasped simultaneously.

He was never able to get it right and thus abandoned it. I believe that you are the only pony who can understand and rewrite it.

Princess Celestia

“Star Swirl the Bearded? Wasn’t that the costume you wore for Nightmare Night?” Rarity asked.

“Yes! He’s not only the father of the amniomorphic spell, he was the most important conjurer of the pre- classical era! There’s an entire wing in the Canterlot Library devoted just to him!” Twilight gushed.

“What a wonderful opportunity this must be for you, darling,” Rarity said to Twilight. “I’d liken it to designing dresses for royalty if it were me. Might I have a look?”

“I never realized that you had an interest in Star Swirl’s work, Rarity,” Twilight said with a smirk.

“If Star Swirl was everything you say, his spells were an art form, and let it never be said that Rarity is not a patron of the arts,” Rarity replied with a dignified air. She looked at the last page and her brow furrowed.

“From one to another, another to one. A mark of one’s destiny singled out alone fulfilled. That doesn’t even rhyme,” she protested.

“Not all spells have to rhyme, Rarity,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “Still, I guess it could be a little more poetic. You don’t suppose that the answer it could be that simple?”

“If it were that simple, Star Swirl would have figured it out and I’d be the Element of Magic right now instead of Generosity,” Rarity joked. A clock on the wall chimed. “Oh dear, is it that late already? I must be getting back to Sweetie Belle. It looks like you have your work cut out for you, Twilight. I cannot wait to hear what you come up with.”

It was me! When I read the spell aloud, I must have accidentally cast it. Oh, I feel like a complete foal. I must get to the library and ask Twi—er I guess it would be Applejack at the moment—if there is a counter-spell of some sort that I can cast to set everything right. Yes, that is exactly what I will do. It was a simple mistake, a simple counter-spell is all I need…

“What do you mean there’s no counter-spell?”

“Keep yer skirt on, Rarity,” Applejack said, shaking her head in annoyance. The bells that she had attached to the Stetson jingled. “Read the page yerself. Just don’t do it out loud this time, if you’re concerned about what it may or may not have done.”

Rarity looked at the page. The words she had read the previous night stared back at her in Star Swirl’s flowing calligraphy. There was nothing else. No notes, no explanation, nothing.

“Now, the Princess is expecting me to work on this here spell and get it right, so I’m gonna need some quiet around here if you don’t mind.”

The purple maned unicorn found herself escorted out of the library before she could protest any further. Ironically enough, it was just in time to see a familiar purple dragon waddling by munching on some topaz.

“Spikey-wikey!”

Spike was at Rarity’s side before she could utter the third syllable.

“Yes, Rarity? How may I help you today?”

“You haven’t noticed anypony acting rather… odd lately, have you?”

Spike hesitated, but finally leaned in so he could whisper.

“Would you consider Twilight Sparkle taking care of Fluttershy’s animals to be odd?” he asked with a hopeful look on his face.

“As odd as Pinkie Pie controlling the weather,” Rarity responded in kind.

“Thank Celestia, I thought I was the only one,” Spike breathed a sigh of relief. “How come nopony remembers how it’s supposed to be except for us?”

“Well, I’m no Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity said, “but if I were to speculate, I would think that it’s because I’m the one who inadvertently cast the spell that caused it. I cannot explain why you remain unaffected, but you cannot begin to imagine how elated I am that you remember too.”

“Wait a sec, you cast a spell?” Spike asked with a frown. “I’ve never seen you use magic for anything that wasn’t fashion related. Why were you casting spells and not Twilight?”

“Honestly, I wasn’t trying to do it,” Rarity insisted. “I assure you that it was an accident. I happened to be visiting Twilight last night while you were taking a bath, and she received a special delivery from Princess Celestia—“

“How come I didn’t know about that?” Spike asked, flushing when he realized that he had been taking a seven hour bubble bath while Rarity was there. “The Princess usually sends her letters through me. Literally.”

“Oh, this was no letter,” Rarity explained. “Ditzy Doo dropped off a special book of spells that the Princess asked Twilight to work on. I sort of read one of them.”

“Sort of?” Spike raised an eyebrow.

“I saw no harm in just reading it. I didn't think reading it meant that I was casting it. My horn didn’t even spark… somepony should have put a warning on the page or something,” Rarity huffed. “Besides, while I have some magic like any unicorn, I’m not gifted like Twilight Sparkle is. I should not have been able to cast a spell written by Star Swirl the Bearded willy nilly like that.”

“Well, at least now we know what went wrong,” Spike said. “So what’s your plan to fix everypony?”

“I tried to look in the book again, but Applejack keeps shooing me out of the library,” Rarity grumbled.

“Applejack’s got Twilight’s cutie mark? Equestria is doomed,” Spike deadpanned.

“It doesn’t matter. The book was no help whatsoever. Say, do you think Twilight would be willing to use her memory spell on the others? You know, the one she used on us when we faced Discord?”

“I doubt that will work,” droned Spike. “Their histories have been altered in their minds. You’d have to convince her that you’re right… a bit of a catch-22 if you ask me.”

“What about Zecora’s cure for the Cutie Pox?” Rarity suggested.

“The Cutie Pox gave Applebloom too many cutie marks. The others only have one. It’s just not the right one,” Spike continued. “Although maybe our friends will grow to like their new lives.”

Rarity glanced out the window at the town covered in remnants of chocolate rain and whipped cream.

“No, Spike, I’m afraid that this just cannot continue, if only for Pinkie Pie’s sake. Who knows what sort of weather she will concoct next. I’d hate to wake up with tomorrow’s weather report being ‘partly cloudy with a chance of wheatballs.’”

“Um, actually…” Spike stammered sheepishly as he twiddled his claws.

“That really is tomorrow’s weather report, isn’t it?” Rarity deadpanned. “We must put a stop to this. Now.”

“But how? There’s no counter spell, and all of the other magic we’ve thought of won’t help our friends either,” Spike whined.

“Magic… friends…” Rarity paused. “Spike… you might be onto something.”

“I might? What did I say?”

“Friendship… is magic…”

“That’s not what I said—“ the dragon said, confused.

“Eye-deee-yahhhh!!”

“Could you clue me in? Spike pleaded as Rarity scooped him up onto her back and began galloping toward Sweet Apple Acres.

“I may not be able to remind them of who they are, but I can show them what they mean to each other!” Rarity explained.

“Still not following,” Spike said.

“Friendship is magic!” Rarity shouted gleefully. “They will find the part of themselves that has been lost so that they can help the friends that they care so much about!”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Spike concurred as they arrived at the orchard. Fluttershy and Angel were hard at work bucking apples. Of course Angel was really doing most of the work.

“Fluttershy, would you mind accompanying Spike and I to see Twilight Sparkle? She could really use your assistance,” Rarity asked with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

“Oh, Rarity, I’m not sure that I can today,” Fluttershy spoke softly. “I’m so far behind here with Big MacIntosh being under the weather… I really think that it's better for me to stay here.”

“Please, please, please?” Rarity begged.

“Well, um… I guess if it’s that important,” Fluttershy conceded. “I wouldn’t want to hurt Twilight’s feelings after all.”

Within minutes, the three were at the cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest. There was a bit of a commotion coming from inside, and they could hear Twilight’s voice only adding to it.

“Now all of you please calm down. It says right here in this book exactly what each of you are supposed to eat every day, so there is no reason for you to be complaining that you’re hungry…”

“She’s feeding them based on what she read in a book?” Spike asked, facepalming. “Even with her cutie mark messing with her head, she’s still Twilight.”

Ignoring the dragon for the moment, Rarity turned to Fluttershy. “Twilight needs your expertise, Fluttershy.”

“M-m-me?” Fluttershy squeaked. “I don’t know anything about animals.” She felt something kick her foreleg. Angel was glaring at her with a look that screamed “Hay! Forget about me? Am I not an animal?”

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to try…” Fluttershy said with trepidation. Knocking on the door, she was surprised to find it swing open at her touch, revealing Twilight Sparkle muzzle to muzzle with a bear.

“Rarity, I think I’ve changed my mind.” Fluttershy announced timidly.

“No, Fluttershy, you can do this,” Rarity assured her in hushed tones. “This situation is going to explode like a wildfire and only you can prevent it. Only you.”

Rarity watched the yellow Pegasus steel her resolve against the situation and raise her voice in the way that only Fluttershy could.

“Twilight Sparkle! Harry! You two settle down right now!”

The two disputing parties turned and blinked in confusion at Fluttershy, who continued.

“I’m not sure what book you got your information out of, Twilight, but you cannot expect a wild animal to be fed on a strict schedule like that. And Harry, it’s understandable that you’re really hungry, but Twilight really did have your best interests at heart. If it’s ok with you, how about we just get you a nice snack, hmmm?”

A flash from Fluttershy’s flank drew Spike’s attention.

“Rarity! It’s working!” Spike pointed at Fluttershy's cutie mark.

“Oh, marvelous work, Fluttershy, darling!” Rarity congratulated her friend.

“Rarity, you were right, I feel like this is who I’m supposed to be… who I really am!” Fluttershy gushed as she fed her friend the bear.

“I’m just glad you’re back to normal, darling,” Rarity replied. She turned to Twilight, who was still looking very confused. “Now it’s your turn, Twilight Sparkle.”

“My turn for what now?” the lavender unicorn wondered.

“There’s no time to explain,” Rarity said “but Applejack’s been cooped up in the library right now. What does that tell you?”

“That does seem… odd for some reason,” Twilight agreed.

“Hay, how about a song?” Fluttershy asked.

“Would it help?” Spike asked dubiously.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt…” Rarity mused.

Applejack needs your help

She’s trying hard doing what she can

Would you try, just give it a chance?

You might find that you’ll start to understand.

They raced to the library, and banged their hooves on the door loudly.

“Consarn it, Rarity, if that’s you again I swear I’m gonna—“

“It’s an intervention, darling. Twilight, do what you do best,” Rarity interrupted, shoving Twilight through the door the second that Applejack opened it.

“I know we just sang that I’m supposed to understand this, but I really don’t—wait. Yes! Yes, I do understand! I remember!” Twilight looked around the library in amazement, as if she were seeing it all for the first time. “The square root of five hundred forty-six is twenty-three point three six six six four two eight nine one zero nine.”

Three ponies and a dragon stared at her blankly.

A sudden flash of light from her cutie mark temporarily blinded them. When they recovered, Twilight stared at a familiar star pattern on her flank.

“I feel like I just woke up from a nightmare,” Twilight murmured. She looked at Applejack, who for some reason was wearing her Starswirl the Bearded costume, except with a navy blue, bell studded stetson.

“Or maybe it’s still happening,” she commented lamely.

“Back to Sweet Apple Acres!” Rarity announced, carrying Spike out the library door and beckoning for her friends to follow.

A true, true friend helps a friend in need

A friend will be there to help them see

A true, true friend helps a friend in need

To see the light that shines from a true, true friend

Twilight and Fluttershy led Applejack up to a tree. Cautiously, Applejack gave the tree a tap with her hind leg. A single apple fell into the bushel sitting next to it. Realization dawned in the orange mare’s eyes.

“That ain’t how we buck apples ‘round here,” she muttered to nopony in particular as she reared back for a second time. This time, she gave a hefty buck that shook every apple from the tree, overflowing the bushel. Her flank sparkled, and her cutie mark reverted to the three apples that her friends were much more familiar with.

“Yee-haw!” Applejack yodeled. “Now that’s more like it. Who’s next?”

“Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash,” Rarity informed her. Those two might be tough to track down.”

“Pshaw,” Spike scoffed. “To find Pinkie Pie, we just need to follow the chocolate rainclouds.”

Pinkie Pie is in trouble

We need to get there by her side

We can try to do what we can now

For together we can be her guide

~ M M C ~

“No,” said Pinkie Pie.

“Um… what?” Rarity said, not expecting such an outright refusal of her help.

“No, I don’t need your help,” Pinkie said. “I’m not some crazy party pony. I have a responsibility and duty to the weather patrol. Neither chocolate rain, nor rock candy sleet, nor dark of a licorice colored night will keep this pony from her appointed rounds.”

“Pinkie Pie, that’s the code of the postal service,” Twilight corrected her. "Well, sort of, anyway."

“It still applies!” Pinkie insisted, her voice rising to a screeching pitch. “You’re telling me that I have to ‘go back’ and be this mare that makes everypony laugh. I’m funny, like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? How the hay am I funny!? Tell me what’s funny!”

“Er… that is… we thought…” Fluttershy stuttered.

“What happened to nice, happy Pinkie Pie?” Rarity asked, attempting to calm the panicking pink pony. “We want that Pinkie Pie back.”

“You just want me to be passionate about birthday cake, party hats and cupcakes,” Pinkie pouted.

“Now sugar cube,” Applejack interjected.

“That’s it.” Pinkie shouted at her friends before any of them could continue, and with a rainbow colored burst, streaked away.

“That… was not supposed to happen,” Rarity mumbled as she stared after Pinkie Pie’s fading contrail.

Oh, My... What a Terrible Dream I Had

Four mares and a dragon watched Pinkie Pie's rainbow hued contrail fade into nothingness.

“So what do we do now?” asked Fluttershy nervously.

“For now… we let her go,” Applejack declared.

“What!?” her friends balked.

“Think about it. Pinkie’s got Dash’s cutie mark, but she’s still Pinkie,” Applejack explained. “We all know how Pinkie can do some pretty impossible things when she sets her mind to it—“

“Yeah, like walking on that cloud when she’s an earth pony,” Spike muttered.

“Exactly,” Applejack agreed. Spike flushed, as he hadn’t intended for anypony to hear him.

”Right now she wants to keep away from us, and I can’t say I blame her,” Applejack continued.

“So we’re just going to let her go? How does that solve anything?” Twilight asked.

“Ah didn’t mean ta imply that we were gonna let her go forever,” Applejack said. “But honestly, do y’all think that any of us are gonna catch her? There’s only one pony that I know of who could do that…”

Rarity’s face lit up in a sly smile.

“Applejack, I like the way you think.”

“I’ve spent umpteen hours in a row holed up in a library readin’, Rares. Some of that fancy stuff got through this thick head o’ mine.”

“So... where do we find Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked.

“If I ever had the inclination to gamble, my first bet would be Sugar Cube Corner… she has swapped destinies with Pinkie Pie after all,” Rarity answered. “Celestia willing, she’ll be working today.”

“All this running around is making me hungry,” Spike commented. “Sugar Cube Corner, here we come!”

~M M C~

As they approached Sugar Cube Corner, the sight and smell of smoke pouring from the building incited some panic amongst them. The door burst open and Carrot, Cup, Pumpkin, and Pound Cake all poured out on top of each other (thankfully the foals were on the very top!), with Rainbow Dash tumbling after them.

“I just don’t know what went—“ Dash tried to explain, but exploded into a fit of coughing as she was surrounded by her friends.

“Is everypony all right?”

“The building’s not on fire, is it?”

“Eep!”

“Should we start a bucket brigade?”

“Settle down, everypony,” Carrot Cake said. “Nothing is on fire, we’re all ok, the kitchen just needs to air out a bit.”

All eyes turned to Rainbow Dash, who was still getting over her coughing fit. The colorful pegasus muttered something to herself.

“What was that, Rainbow?” Applejack asked.

“I said, I’m never going to be the Wonderbolts’ head chef if I can’t even bake something as simple as cupcakes. I don’t understand it. I’m supposed to be the best at this stuff.”

“At baking?” Rarity queried, her eyebrow raised. “I think if I had a choice between your cupcakes and a bowl of toast from Sweetie Belle—“

“—Let me handle this, Rares,” Applejack winked at her. “Rainbow Dash, what element do you represent?”

“Loyalty,” Dash said with a scowl. “You know that.”

Applejack nodded. “Well, loyalty and honesty are very similar creatures, and I think that’s one of the many reasons me and you get along so well.”

“What’s your point?” Dash snipped, burying her muzzle in her hooves, brooding.

“Do y’all honestly think that baking and partying is your destiny?”

“I’m not sure, but what I do know that I don’t just abandon a project once I’ve started it. I see it through to the end. And I don’t leave my friends hanging, because… because…”

“Exactly. Friends don’t leave each other hanging. Right now, we need your help to help Pinkie Pie,” Applejack smiled.

“How can I help?” Rainbow Dash pleaded. "I really need to snap out of this funk I've been in lately—“

“You’re the fastest pony in Equestria,” Rarity interjected. “We have a need… a need for your speed.”

“...And if you don’t mind clearing out some of those pink clouds while you’re at it,” Twilight suggested.

“You can count on me!” Rainbow Dash said with a salute.

~M M C~

“Hey, Pinks,” Rainbow Dash said as she caught up to the speeding Pinkie Pie.

“Hiya Dashie!” Pinkie replied with a huge grin. “What’s shakin’, haybacon?”

“You mind if we have a talk?” Dash asked hopefully. Pinkie’s face fell. She screeched to a halt, forcing Dash to do a quick turnaround.

“Not you too, Rainbow Dash,” she replied patronizingly. “I already told the others that I’m very happy and don’t want to change who I am.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t listening to what they had to say,” Rainbow countered. “Applejack wouldn’t lie to you, right?”

“I guess not.”

“And I’m the Element of Loyalty, so I’m not going to let you down, no matter what, right?”

“Nopey-dopey,” Pinkie sighed.

“So if what you really want is to be a weather pony instead of a baker, I’m not gonna stop you. But pretend for that you’re Applejack or me for one second here and ask yourself if you’re being honest with yourself?” Rainbow paced around Pinkie Pie as she talked. “You saw me on the stage trying to make everypony laugh. I was… awful. Sure I can play a good prank, but you’re got a true gift for making ponies smile, and it’s more than just laughter and parties.”

“But doesn’t the weather make ponies happy, too?”

“Sometimes. Most ponies like the sunny days the best, as you know. But others, like Raindrops, love a good storm. Plus Applejack and Carrot Top need the rain to grow their crops.”

“And every filly and colt loves a snow day because it means that school gets cancelled,” Pinkie piped up.

“Yeah, you get the idea,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “I mean, you weren’t bad at weather duty, but seriously, chocolate rain? That wasn’t even a good idea the first time when Discord tried it.”

“But I added the whipped cream lightning this time,” Pinkie Pie pouted.

“The weather is like a cupcake recipe,” Dash tried to explain. “It may come in a variety of flavors, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t rules. Remember the baked bads?”

“I guess you’re right,” Pinkie finally admitted. “But I wanted to be a good weather pony so bad…”

“I understand, trust me. It’s not the easiest thing to admit that you’re not good at something when you have reputations like ours to uphold, right Pinks?”

“You know, Dashie, you’re not as bad at making a pony smile as you think you are.”

“Thanks… I think,” Dash grinned. “But you know what? You’re even better at it.”

The pink party pony gleefully squeed. She looked at her flank, where Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark still remained. “Hey Dashie, I think it’s waiting for us to spontaneously burst into song or something. Perhaps we should oblige it.”

“Um… ok, if you think singing will solve the problem. You are so random, Pinkie Pie.”

They raced back to the town square, where her friends had gathered along with a string of other citizens. Rainbow Dash started singing, and some of the Ponyville citizens supplied the harmony.

The townsfolk all need you. It’s been rough these past few days

They run around, wearing frowns like they’re stuck in a haze

Spike joined in, handing her a fake mustache and glasses.

But if you care to help, we’d sure appreciate your style

If you tell some jokes to all these folks and make ‘em smile, smile, SMILE!

Pinkie launched herself to the top of the fountain, “All right everypony, stop me if you’ve heard this one: a pegasus, a unicorn, and an earth pony walk into Berry Punch’s bar. Berry Punch asks ‘What is this, some kind of joke?’”

“Hooray! Pinkie!” the crowd cheered The flanks of two ponies glowed, and their cutie marks were restored.

~M M C~

The six friends gathered in the library.

“And to think this little book is the cause of it all,” Twilight Sparkle chuckled.

“I do apologize, everypony,” Rarity said, blushing. “I didn’t realize that I had cast the spell just by reading the words. I don’t even remember my horn giving off so much as a spark. Honestly, they ought to put some sort of warning label on these things.”

“’Twasn’t your fault, Rarity,” Applejack assured her.

“Yeah, it could have happened to any one of us,” Pinkie concurred.

“If you hadn’t done so, I probably going to cast the spell myself just out of curiosity,” Twilight said with a chuckle. “You might have been the one stuck on weather patrol instead of Pinkie Pie. I can just imagine you literally creating weather patterns in the clouds.”

“Or dealing with Harry the bear,” Fluttershy quietly piped up.

“So what is this spell anyway, and how does Princess Celestia expect you to fix it?” asked Rainbow Dash impatiently.

“See for yourself,” Twilight answered, opening the book to the page, adding “Just everypony read it silently to themselves this time.”

The brows of six ponies and one dragon furrowed as they gazed upon the ancient words of Starswirl the Bearded. Applejack was the first to speak up.

“I took a gander at this while we were all… swapped. The only thing I could think of was that the prose is goddess-awful.”

“Oh, I am so glad that I’m not the only one who thought that,” Rarity exclaimed with a sigh of relief.

“It does seem like it could be about twenty percent cooler,” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“That’s your answer to everything,” Twilight muttered.

“Maybe we could all contribute something,” said Fluttershy. “I mean, if you don’t mind, that is. It seems like we’ve all spent time walking in each other’s horseshoes over the past couple of days.”

“Yeah, and I don’t know about any of you, but I had so much fun!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she bounced up and down. Her friends laughed somewhat nervously.

“Actually, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie make good points,” Rarity said.

“We do?” Pinkie asked, stopping in mid-bounce.

“Yes,” Twilight said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “All six of us experience a bit of what it’s like to be somepony else for a bit.” Rainbow Dash raised her hoof, as if she were a student in Cheerilee’s classroom.

“Wait,” she interrupted. “Rarity didn’t have her cutie mark swapped like the rest of us. How does she know what it was like? No offense intended, Rares.”

Spike came to the defense of the alabaster unicorn.

“Rarity may not have swapped cutie marks with anypony, but she did sort of change her usual role. I mean, usually when we’re getting into all sorts of messes like this, we rely on Twilight’s magic to get us out,” the dragon explained.

“...especially when it’s my magic that got us into the mess in the first place,” Twilight admitted.

“But since I had Twilight’s cutie mark, and I was too busy studyin’ to even see whether I could even try to do any kind of fancy unicorn magic…” Applejack continued.

“Rarity took the lead this time and brought us all back together,” Fluttershy finished.

“Oh. I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow Dash acquiesced.

“Well, I do have one suggestion for this doggerel,” Rarity announced, changing the subject back to the spell before them. “It really needs to rhyme.”

“Hmm… how about starting it ‘From all of us together…’ instead of ‘from one to another, another to one?’” Fluttershy asked.

“That does sound less clunky,” Applejack agreed. “Cuz together we are friends, after all.”

“And our destinies were bound together by my awesome Sonic Rainboom,” bragged Rainbow Dash. Everypony looked at her. “What? You know you love me.”

“Don’t ever change, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie laughed.

“Hmm… From all of us together, together we are friends,” Rarity murmured. “With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.”

“That’s pretty good, Rarity,” Twilight said with a grin.

“Do you really think so? I like Fluttershy and Applejack’s lines, but the ending seems a bit—“

She was cut off by the Elements of Harmony glowing brightly.

“Oh dear. I did it again, didn’t I?"

Or... Maybe I'm Still Having It

The Elements of Harmony began to glow brightly. Rarity realized her mistake immediately.

“Oh dear. I did it again, didn’t I? I really need to—“

Five beams of light shot out at Rarity to strike her own Element of Generosity and envelop the purple coiffed mare in a white light. Then with a flash, Rarity was gone, leaving three diamond shaped scorch marks on the library floor.

The remaining ponies and Spike could only gape in stunned silence at the spot where their friend had been seconds before.

“What… what just happened?” asked Fluttershy.

~M M C~

“Hello?” Rarity called into the void. As far as voids go, it wasn’t particularly dark. If twilight (the time of day, not her friend) had a color, then in Rarity’s mind she imagined that its color would be the same as this… place.

“Where am I?” She called. “What is this place? Am I…” the words stuck in the back of her throat.

“Rarity!”

Princess Celestia just... appeared out of nowhere, walking toward her on the nothing. Walking, not flying. Rarity’s confusion grew, but the sight of the princess calmed her a bit. If Celestia was here, this couldn’t be a bad place… could it?

“I must admit that I was not expecting to find you here,” Celestia confessed. What was that supposed to mean?

“Princess Celestia! Um… where exactly is… ‘here’ if you don’t mind me asking?” Rarity asked as she dipped into a bow.

“All in good time,” Celestia assured her. “I knew that you could do it. It’s not how I expected it to happen, but in some ways, I think it may be better.”

“You’re not really making sense, Princess,” Rarity pressed, concern evident in her eyes. “Is this about the spell? I didn’t mean to cast it again. Honestly, I never meant to cast it the first time.”

“It is about the spell, Rarity, but you didn’t do anything wrong. It is no crime to be curious, otherwise the Equestrial penal system would be rather full of ponies like your sister Sweetie Belle, don’t you agree?” Celestia sported a sly smile.

Rarity gave a tentative nod, not completely convinced.

“You and your friends did something today that has never been done before, something that even the great Starswirl the Bearded was never able to accomplish, because he did not understand friendship the way that you all do,” Celestia explained with a smile.

“But why am I the only one here?” Rarity questioned. “All of us helped to rewrite the spell.”

“It was you who came up with the idea of making the spell a part of you all. Your inspiration led to the creation of something that is bigger than any one of you alone. It may have been magic, but it was your element that was the true catalyst,” Celestia continued.

“Generosity?” Rarity was dumbfounded. She glanced down at the necklace she still wore. “Forgive me, Princess, but this is really… deep.”

Celestia laughed gently. “The reference guide to the Elements of Harmony only explains them so well. As the Equestrian language changed, so was the legend of the elements modified. It should not surprise you to find out that your element was originally called something different. Back before Luna and I used the elements ourselves to defeat Discord the first time, the element was known as Inspiration.”

Rarity gasped. “Inspiration? You mean like…”

“Like your desire to create something new.” Celestia finished for her. “Of course, inspiration does nopony any good when it is not shared. Over the years the element became better known as Generosity, reflecting the desire of the bearer to share new creations like art, literature, and anything one could possibly dream up for the good of everypony.”

Blinking in amazement, Rarity looked at the princess expectantly. “So what happens now?”

“It’s time now for a new change to come, for it’s time for you to fulfill your destiny.”

Rarity looked down to see her element glowing again. For the second time in a matter of hours, she was enveloped in a soft white glow…

~M M C~

She heard Applejack’s voice.

“Rarity? Is that you?”

“We saw your cutie mark appear in the sky like some kind of beacon,” Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Yeah, it was all shining like if we'd given Mare Do Well her own Mare-signal," Pinkie Pie asserted.

“We all came running out as quick as we could,” Fluttershy added.

“She’s alive! We can have a ‘Thank Luna That Rarity’s Alive’ party!” Pinkie declared.

Rarity smiled. She hesitated somewhat but finally unfurled her new wings, causing her gathered friends to gawk in amazement.

“Rarity’s got wings again!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “These aren’t going to melt if you get too close to the sun like last time, are they?”

“Rarity! You’ve become an alicorn!” Twilight Sparkle stated the obvious. “I never even knew that such a thing was possible.”

“Alicorn Party!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she swung by on a vine. She was wearing a tiara in the shape of a unicorn’s horn in addition to a gaudy pair of red and black feathered wings. Pinkie tossed confetti everywhere as she hooted and hollered in excitement.

“Wow…” Fluttershy chimed in. “You look just like a princess.”

“That’s because she is a princess,” Celestia announced, startling the group with her sudden appearance, as well as the shocking revelation.

“Does this mean that Rarity has to leave Ponyville now?” Pinkie Pie asked, suddenly saddened by the possibility of losing her friend to the romantic lifestyle that went along with being royalty. Rarity swore she heard the sound of a phonograph scratching to a halt.

“Of course not,” Celestia gently replied. “Just because she’s a princess doesn’t mean that she has to live in Canterlot, she can make her own choice in regard to her living arrangements. In fact, I encourage her to do just that."

"Oh," said Pinkie Pie. "Well, in that case... GAME ON!" Pinkie Pie's celebrating resumed.

~M M C~

Not long after...

“Rarity? Are you in here?” Twilight called out. “It’s time for your big introduction.” The lavender unicorn scanned the room until she spotted a wisp of purple mane. Rarity was on the balcony, gazing out at the Equestrian landscape. The alabaster unicorn was so lost in her daydream, that she didn’t even notice as Twilight walked up to her.

“Rarity. It’s time,” Twilight repeated softly, hoping not to startle her friend.

“I’m not sure that I can do this,” Rarity mumbled.

“Um… what?” Twilight’s eyes widened.

“I don’t expect anypony to understand, but deep down, there’s a part of me that feels like this honor does not belong to me. You’re Princess Celestia’s student, Twilight Sparkle. It should be you going out there today, not Rarity.”

“That’s…” Twilight stammered.

“Both times that I cast the spell were completely unintentional, I swear!” Rarity wailed. She began to pace back and forth, waving her front hooves dramatically to punctuate her sentences. “Celestia sent Starswirl’s book to you. You were supposed to cast the spell. You were supposed to figure out how to fix it. You had a chance to become a princess, and I took that away from you with… dumb luck.”

“Horseapples,” grunted another voice. It was Applejack. Twilight smiled.

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Applejack,” Twilight said.

“But—“ Rarity began, but Applejack stomped her hoof to silence her.

“No buts, Rarity. Y’all remember what Spike and I said before the elements up and zapped you? You have a ton of leadership potential in you.”

“Also, you solved the problem not by using your intuition. My first instinct probably would have been to just use another spell,” Twilight added. “Then, when it came time for me to actually rewrite the spell, your idea for involving all of us was simply brilliant. You know me. I probably would have tried to do it alone if you hadn’t intervened. The spell chose you, Rarity. Our destinies may be intertwined like Rainbow Dash said, but this moment belongs to you and you alone.”

“I’m still not sure that—“

“Not finished,” Applejack interrupted again. “Out of all of us, hasn’t it been your dream to be in this position? You’re about to get everything you’ve ever wanted, ain’t ya? And you won’t be ‘alone’ alone, if ya know what I mean. You’ve got the six of us behind you all the way.”

Rarity turned to see Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike poking their heads out of the doorway.

“Plus there’s your family to consider,” Twilight reminded her. Rarity recalled the excitement in Sweetie Belle’s eyes when the filly saw her sister’s transformation, not to mention her parents’ reactions when they had found out.

“We’re so proud of you, Rarity!” Spike called, wiping moisture from his eyes.

“Oh, my dear Spikey-wikey, are you crying?”

“No!” the dragon harrumphed, “It’s… um… liquid pride. Yeah, that’s it. Not the same thing at all. Nope, totally draconic and masculine.”

“Come on, Rarity! We’ve got to make today the best coronation day ever!” cried Pinkie Pie, leading the way toward the great hall.

~M M C~

Rarity felt like she was dreaming. None of this could possibly be real. She could hear Princess Celestia’s melodic voice through the double doors , somewhat muffled by the sturdy wood. The Princess was talking about Rarity’s role in redeeming her sister, Princess Luna. It was hard to believe that it was only a year or two ago. The memory was as fresh in her mind as if it happened yesterday, and yet so much else had happened to her during that time.

“Here’s your cue, Princess,” one of Luna’s guards whispered to her, giving her a wink. His eyes were yellow and draconic, reminding her of Spike and steeling her courage.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time… Princess Rarity!” Celestia announced. The enormous doors swung open, and trio of guards, escorted her down the walkway. Luna’s guard was on her left, Celestia’s on her right, and a guard from the Crystal Empire selected by Princess Cadance was flanking her.

“Behold, behold, behold…” the ponies sang. Most were from Canterlot, but she recognized many Ponyvillians in the crow as well. Wasn’t that Ditzy Doo, the Ponyville mailmare, winking at her on the left side of the hall next to a crystal pony? She couldn’t help but notice Lyra Heartstrings jumping up and down in excitement.

Rarity stood in front of her alicorn peers and turned to face the crowd.

“Say something, Princess,” Celestia urged her with a friendly, yet somewhat teasing smile.

“Right. Of course,” Rarity said. She coughed once, daintily and cleared her throat. She realized that she hadn’t practiced using the Royal Canterlot Voice, and silently hoped that everypony would be able to hear her.

“My little ponies, you may have heard about some of my… ‘good breaks’ over the past couple of years. It is in large part thanks to my friends here, who have given me nothing but kindness and encouragement, that I stand before you today. Who wouldn’t have considered it an honor to know a fine, upstanding and loyal mare like Rainbow Dash, or the honest, hardworking individual like Applejack? To have been blessed with the kindness of Fluttershy, the unquenchable optimism of Pinkie Pie, and the smart student of Celestia, Twilight Sparkle? Spike… my dearest Spike, you are truly a tower of strength and courage.”

Rarity wiped away a tear trickling down her cheek as her words reverberated across the great hall.

“Today, I consider myself the luckiest mare on the face of Equestria. I know I have a lot to live for. Thank you, my friends. Thank you, everypony.”

The crowd cheered.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, charging forward and glomping her big sister in a big hug. Her parents were not far behind the filly, beaming with pride in their daughter. Everypony was singing again, but Rarity was too caught up in the moment to hear the words.

“Yes,” she said to herself. “I daresay everything is going to be just fine.” She stretched he wings, and lifted off, doing a victory lap around the castle for good measure.

~M M C~

Elsewhere…

Discord lounged by a pond in Ponyville, sunning himself. Growing bored quickly, and figuring that everypony who was anypony was at Rarity’s coronation, he snapped his claw, and it began raining wheatballs.

“Much better,” he sighed. “Pinkie Pie does come up with some doozies.”

The Spirit of Chaos snapped his claw again, and a book appeared in his paw. Leafing through it, he came to a page containing a spell with scouring sand and correction ink scrawled on it.

“You beautiful little thing,” he crooned. “Aren’t you the nasty-wasty wittle spell that caused such a wuckus. It certainly was enjoyable to watch while it lasted, but alas! All good things must come to an end, I suppose. Although, I wonder…”

In a puff of smoke, a mirror appeared. Three fillies, a yellow earth pony, an orange Pegasus, and a white unicorn appeared in its surface, oblivious to Discord’s prying eyes. He focused on the unicorn.

“I wonder…” the draconequus repeated. “What sort of shenanigans could have ensued had this one been in the library that night?” Discord’s face twisted into a wicked smile, and he cackled maniacally. Then he scowled.

“Nah," Discord declared. "That would just be too silly, even for me.” He snapped his claw for a third time, and returned the book to its rightful place in Golden Oaks Library.

~FIN~