All Gone Wrong

Prologue

“Thank you for coming, everypony,” the lavender princess began. She seemed a bit nervous, as betrayed by her hooves, which were clasped together, shaking ever so slightly. She was sitting on her haunches, surrounded by her five best friends in the world. She didn’t know what she would have ever done without them; she felt guilty about using Fluttershy as a lab rat, but she didn’t have anypony else to test her new spell on. Besides, the yellow pegasus had insisted. However, it was obvious she was terrified; her legs were shaking violently, her teeth chattering. Her fillyfriend, Rainbow Dash, was standing by her with a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” Twilight heard her whisper. “I’m right here.”

Applejack and Rarity were side by side. Rarity was looking over at Fluttershy with a worried expression, eyes betraying her concern. Her lips were downturned in a frown, and it was quite clear that she disapproved of her very best friend being treated like this. The white unicorn looked over at Twilight, a hint of anger in her face. Applejack perceived this; gently, she tapped her friend’s shoulder and whispered something quick and low into her friend’s ear. Rarity looked briefly at the wooden floor, then back at the earth pony and nodded.

Last, but not least, was Pinkie Pie, bouncing in place. “I’m so nervousited! I’m so nervousited!” she repeated under her breath, with a look of pure anxiety—or was it joy?—on her face. For a moment, she stopped bouncing for no apparent reason and looked at something it seemed only she could see. As she was speaking quickly, the alicorn could only pick out the phrase: “Are you, reader?” before the pink pony went back to hopping around. Twilight sighed and looked down at the floorboards. Yes, she was certainly nervousited; nervous that things could go terribly wrong, but also exited that they might go terribly right. She had no clue what was going to happen. She looked back up, took a deep breath, and continued.

“As you all know, today we are here to observe the affects my new spell has on ponies. I have previously tested on small animals, such as rabbits, that I borrowed from Fluttershy’s animal farm. Now, however, we will soon witness the affect that my new spell has on actual ponies. Fluttershy has volunteered, and as such, we are here to both conduct the experiment and cheer her on,” The purple alicorn cleared her throat and continued. “Now then; Fluttershy, would you please step forward?”

The pegasus anxiously stepped forward, treading slowly and shakily. Stepping out, Rainbow encouraged her on, walking next to her. “Easy, Shy,” she said quietly, matching her love’s pace. “I’m right here with ya.” She was pressed close, their coats brushing. Twilight’s sensitive horn could perceive the warmth that flowed from the two. Since she had become a princess, her horn had become even more sensitive to her surroundings, as well as ponies’ emotions. It had been quite jarring at first, feeling the searing heat of anger and bitter cold of depression, as well as everything in between, at once. However, she had learned to cope, as well as find the silver lining; emotions could be pleasant, such as compassion. Fear, however—most prominently from Fluttershy at the moment—was strange and lukewarm, like a bittersweet kiss that stretched from the tip of her horn to the very base of her spine. No matter what she tried, her psyche couldn’t seem to make sense of it, and it made her shiver with distaste, especially with it coming from one of her friends.

In the center of the room was a small, pony-sized container made of a special Equestrian plastic, designed to keep even the strongest magic from breaking loose. Delicately, Twilight opened it, her purple aura dancing like a butterfly moving in slow motion. Fluttershy disconnected from Dash, leaving a small spark of warmth between their coats until it faded. Twilight thought she saw a glimmer of a tear in Rainbow’s eye, but it must have been the lighting, as a second later it disappeared. Twilight sealed the plastic back up and moved to the side, where a small horn-sized hole—designed to encompass the horn from the tip to the base, so that no magic could escape—was positioned. This was a dangerous experiment, and for a second, the alicorn reconsidered it entirely. But no; this had to be tested, as it could save lives.

The spell was designed so that the pony’s heath, psyche, and sleeping would drastically improve, as well as preventing future diseases. It couldn’t cure the diseases, as far as her previously conducted experiments had yielded, but it was a step in getting there. Fluttershy was sickly and small, however much the alicorn liked to admit it, if all went well, the spell might be able to be administered nationwide. The thought filled her with glee; she wasn’t going to live forever, despite her newfound princesshood, and she wanted to be remembered as somepony other than a temporary monarch.

“Alright, than. Everypony, please step back. This may be dangerous.” With that, the alicorn placed her delicate horn inside of the hole and began to concentrate. She could begin to feel sweat bead on her brow, and she breathed deeply. Mustering all her strength, she muttered:

“Sickness and death,

Sadness and sorrow,

They shall make way

For a better tomorrow.

“Never the sickly

Never the sad,

Never the one with

Whom disease is clad.

“Take away eyes

Of those who can’t see

Strong and healthy is what we are meant to be.”

A brilliant white flash swept through the room, along with it a searing cold the made Twilight’s horn numb. As the whiteness died away, Twilight opened her eyes. Blackness penetrated her vision, and she panicked. “Fluttershy? Everypony? Are you alright?”

“Ah’m over here!” Applejack called. Twilight quickly pinpointed the voice, and cried back.

“Can you see anything, Applejack? What does-“

“AAHHH! WHO TURNED OFF THE MOON?!”

“Darling, it’s so dark, I can’t see a thing!”

“Um, what just happened? Oh, crap, Fluttershy! Where the hay are you?!”

“I-I’m right here…” Twilight heard what she thought was Rainbow shuffle over.

“Twi! Get her the HAY out of there!”