Swapped
Ch. 4 - Heavenly Shimmer

Twilight and her friends stood outside the entrance to the throne room, awaiting their audience with the princess. The newly-winged librarian paced back and forth, trying to picture just how the meeting would go. However, each passing second only brought worse and worse scenarios to her already frazzled mind. Each tick of the clock overhead sounded like a bang on the final nail in Twilight’s coffin, slowly making her more and more desperate. Her eyes darted back to the clock for the hundredth time since they arrived. She watched as the seconds ticked past, slowly running out until the princess would have Twilight’s head for her failure. Her heart raced as she tried to reason with her dramatic unreasonable mental image of Celestia, but to no avail. They had recovered the mirror, but they still did not recover it without cost, and that is what Twilight could not look past.

Deep down she felt like her heart was being yanked out of her chest, a sensation she recognized as worry. Her eyes drifted back to her saddlebag as she fought the urge to look inside it for the umpteenth time, just to make sure she remembered the item in question. When her eyes met her side, she was forced to face the feathery truth on her back, the reason she felt so much worry, the reason the princess would banish her, or whatever horrible fate she convinced herself was awaiting her on the other side of that door. Saying she wasn’t looking forward to telling Celestia the series of events that led up to the accident was an understatement. She would rather fight Discord, Nightmare Moon, and Sombra all at once at this point.

Then there was the key bit of information she had chose to leave out of her letter. She wasn’t sure how the princess would react to their changes, mostly because she hadn’t mentioned that particular detail in her short request, but she was already assuming the worst. The princess had always been so proud of how talented Twilight was with magic, so how would view her student now that she was a pegasus? Hindsight was now making her regret not warning Celestia in the letter she sent.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am writing to inform you that we have retrieved the magical artifact that you sent us to recover. However, there was a minor mishap along the way. It’s a rather trivial issue, and I’m not too sure if I should even bother you with it. In any case, we are not harmed. But, if you would be able see us at your earliest convenience so we can have your assistance in correcting this small incident, my friends and I would be most grateful.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

She remembered Spike’s disappointed look when he finished writing Twilight’s request. The letter was vague, and the severity of the issue far too downplayed. He didn’t want to send it, but Twilight was being rather steadfast. The last thing she wanted to tell Celestia was how careless she had been in a letter. She somehow convinced herself at that moment it would be easier to tell her firsthoof. That and there was also the issue of her self-perceived personal failure to protect her friends. As soon as the letter was whisked away in a puff of smoke, she immediately began to dread the reply. Luckily for Twilight’s stressed heart, it hadn’t taken long.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I am grateful that you have successfully retrieved Heavenly Shimmer’s Mirror, but I am also shocked, my faithful student. I am shocked that you believe my schedule too busy to see you and your charming friends after returning from such a dangerous errand. I am truly grateful to you for bringing the artifact back to its rightful home.

As for your mishap, I would be happy to help if I can. You only ever need to ask for my assistance and I would be more than happy to lend it. You and your friends may arrive at the castle tomorrow morning. I shall see you then.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

The princess’s sweet words would have soothed any other pony’s worries, but not Twilight’s. She only saw a sarcastic tone that wasn’t there, and convinced herself that Celestia would be furious with her for putting her friends in danger. Twilight had let the heat and her temper get the best of her that day, and failed those that counted on her because of it. She had completely failed her friends by not reacting fast enough to the magic put out by the mirror, she wasn’t able to put up a barrier in time to shield herself and her companions from the mirror’s magic, everything was her fault.

Pacing and dwelling on the whole fiasco wasn’t making her feel any better. No matter how many times she replayed the event in her head, it won’t change what happened. She and her friends were still all switched about. Twilight gave a worried glance to her friends, all sitting perfectly still, waiting—well, except Pinkie Pie.

Rarity was still wearing Applejack’s hat, though it now had a lavender feather from Twilight rather than Pinkie’s vibrant, so-pink-it-was-almost-silly feather. Twilight thought Rarity was joking when she asked yesterday, and even laughed a bit at the request, but Rarity had been serious. It was actually kind of embarrassing for her to pluck a feather from her wings since she really didn’t feel like they were hers in the first place. But after a bit of coaxing, she reluctantly gave her one—of Rarity’s choosing of course. For some reason though, since the change Rarity had been rather attached to Applejack’s hat. Twilight found it odd to say the least, seeing that Rarity never showed any desire to wear a stetson hat before the accident. Perhaps it was her mind adapting to the change of becoming an earth pony by following an example. In this case a role model Rarity saw as a perfect example of an earth pony.

As Twilight musings shifted from Rarity to Applejack, she found the farmer sitting patiently, with a small scowl on her face. She was still rather upset with Rarity for keeping her hat for yet another day, considering she told Applejack she would give it back. Twilight had heard the whole story on the train ride since Applejack had given Rarity an ear-full for good portion of the trip to Canterlot. Apparently, she really wanted to make sure Rarity understood just how mad she was at her going back on her word.

Yet Twilight felt the farmer’s aggravation was more of a cover for her stress over her change. Applejack had lost something precious to her—her identity. Twilight could see it deep in the cowpony’s eyes; she was a workhorse who couldn’t work anymore. For a pony who held hard work and physical prowess in such high regard to suddenly be unable to do that physical labor—it had to feel like losing a leg to Applejack. She was desperately trying to grasp onto something from her old self—something that she felt embodied her. Consciously or subconsciously, it seemed she had chosen her hat. A sudden pink blur smacked Applejack in the head, causing her to grit her teeth slightly.

“Or maybe that’s why she’s so annoyed...” Twilight mused to herself, cracking a small smile as she fought the urge to laugh.

Pinkie’s wings hadn’t settled down after yesterday. They still fluttered frequently enough to be a bother to her, and anyone sitting next to her—an unpleasantry Twilight had the misfortune of dealing with first hoof on the train ride. As Twilight sat there, battered by the feathery limb every few seconds, she had determined whatever was going on with Pinkie’s wings wasn’t a side affect of the transformation. Whatever it was only affected Pinkie, and no one else had any strange side effects. She hadn’t quite discovered if it was her Pinkie sense, or her hyperactivity acting out in this way, but whichever one it was, it really wasn’t for her to fix.

Twilight’s eyes moved to Fluttershy next. She was a complete mystery to Twilight; she had no idea how the introverted pony was handling the change since she rarely spoke. Any time Twilight tried to engage, she would simply reply that she was fine, and shirk the subject. Which in itself told Twilight she wasn’t handling it very well. Since the accident, she had been even more quiet than usual, and that worried Twilight. This morning before they got on the train, Fluttershy seemed rather distant. Usually the shy pony was at least listening to a conversation if not participating, but not today. However, this change was affecting the soft-spoken pony’s life, it wasn‘t in a good way, Twilight knew that much.

A loud, drawn out groan grabbed Twilight’s attention. Rainbow Dash, who was sitting down next to Fluttershy, was clearly bored. The former pegasus was so bored she was becoming irritated, which if the past few days had given Twilight any inclination, this would lead to a fight between Rainbow Dash and her. It really didn’t get bad until yesterday, when Rainbow Dash suddenly stormed out of the room just before their friends left. Twilight assumed it was disappointment over not being able to go back to a pegasus, but she felt that wasn’t quite right.

“When can we see the princess? I’m tired of waiting!” Rainbow Dash jumped up.

“Have some patience, Rainbow Dash. It shouldn’t be much longer,” Rarity said, trying to settle the restless pony down.

“We’ve been waiting for forever!” she groaned.

“It’s been ten minutes.” Twilight replied. She immediately regretted speaking as an almost audible voice said in the back of her head that she shouldn‘t have said that.

“Oh, well, sorry I can’t keep track of time in my head like you can!” she snapped at Twilight.

“What’s wit’ ya, RD. There’s a clock right over yonder, ain‘t too hard ta figure out how long we been waitin’. Besides, it ain’t like Twilight was bein’ nasty ta ya, so why ya snappin’ at her for?” Applejack’s question only seemed to irritate Rainbow Dash more.

“It’s none of your business, Applejack,” she muttered, turning her back to her friend.

The large split door to the throne room was suddenly wrapped in a magical aura, and subsequently swung opened. Two pegasi guards stepped out in unison as the door opened. A unicorn guard followed closely behind them, his horn glowing with the same color aura around the double door. The two pegasi stood on opposite ends of the entry, taking post, while the unicorn stepped off to the side, allowing the group of friends access to the throne room. Twilight let out an audible gulp as the guard stepped aside.

Twilight looked back at her friends, finding them gathering behind her, almost urging her forward. With a small sigh she reluctantly entered the huge throne room, her friends following behind. When the doors closed behind them, it finally sunk in that she was going to have to face the music. As she walked up to the throne, many regrets rushed through her mind once again. She wished she had told the princess what to expect, or at least hinted at their change.

“Again, Princess, I am terribly sorry for the mix up.” A high-pitched, almost nasally, masculine voice came from the just before the throne. There stood a lanky unicorn stallion, with a brown coat, and dark brown mane. A pair of glasses sat towards the end of his nose. He was dressed in a business formal attire, with a black coat, and a tie. Even by Twilight’s standard this stallion looked bookish, and up-tight.

“Please, you have already apologized. Mistakes happen, and it has already been corrected.” The princess tried to put the stallion at ease, but he refused to relax.

“I assure you, punitive measures have already been taken against the pony responsible for the error.” He protested against the ruler’s kind tone.

Celestia rolled her eyes, catching a glimpse of a group of ponies walking towards the throne. Her face lit up with relief at the sight of Twilight and her friends. “The mirror is here, and I do not require “somepony’s head on a platter” as you so eloquently put it—for this little misunderstanding.” Celestia motioned to Twilight and her friends behind the stallion, bringing the group to his attention. As they came closer the princess’s eyes opened slightly wider as she took notice of the change in her student and her friends. After a brief moment of shock, her eyes returned back to their normal calm demeanor.

“I suspected that this might be the “minor mishap” you mentioned in your letter.” She said with a small laugh. Twilight lowered her head in shame.

“I’m sorry, Princess, I know I should have been more careful, and—”

“Twilight, please. You could not have foreseen this.” Celestia used her magic to lift her student’s head up. She gave the former unicorn a warm smile, telling her it was alright.

“B-But I should have—” she was cut off again.

“If it’s anypony’s fault, it is mine for not warning you of the dangers.” Her teacher’s reassuring words did little to relax her. She still felt like she had let her friends down, and failed her mentor in the process. When her eyes made contact with Celestia’s again, she felt a familiar calming attribute deep in her teacher’s gaze. In that stare, she was telling Twilight not to worry, and things would work out, all in just her eyes. Twilight gave a soft nod before taking a deep breath to calm herself.

“So you knew this could happen?” Rainbow Dash asked feeling like she had been betrayed. Her rude tone garnered a glare from Rarity, and Applejack. Much to the two’s relief, Celestia was not offended. Before Twilight could even retort to the rude comment, Celestia had raised a hoof to her student, telling her it was alright.

Celestia gave the former pegasus a nod. “Yes, there was a possibility,” the princess said in a solemn voice.

“If ya don’t mind me askin’ yer majesty, why didn’t ya warn us about this thing?” Applejack asked.

“It has been inactive for many years, and the magic itself isn’t malicious,” the princess explained.

“Well, it could have fooled me,” Rarity muttered, adjusting her hat out of her eyes.

“The item I had you recover is known as Heavenly Shimmer’s Mirror, it’s a tool for helping ponies better understand one another. The fact that you ponies are under its effects tells me that you may need to do a bit of understanding yourselves,” Celestia said with a small chuckle. Though she teased, her voice still had a calming aspect to it that put the ponies at ease. For some reason her voice gave them hope that they wouldn‘t be stuck this way forever. “The item was given to the Canterlot Museum for safe keeping.” She glanced over at the stallion, who was now standing off to the side, silently.

“Again, I am sorry about the mix up, your majesty,” he said, bowing his head once more.

“Wait, so who is this guy?” Pinkie asked, popping up behind the straight-laced pony. The sudden appearance of a pink figure behind him caused the up-tight unicorn to jump back.

“My name is Flawless Masterpiece, I am the curator of the Canterlot Museum.” He straightened his tie that became slightly askew when he was startle, while giving Pinkie a small glare.

“Neat,” said the bubbly mare as she rejoined her group of friends.

“So why are you here?” Rainbow Dash asked in an obnoxious tone.

“I have come to personally recover the stolen item. I’m guessing you are the ponies transporting the mirror?” he asked the group.

Twilight gave the tight-laced pony a small nod. “Yes, I have it with me.”

“Good, I am glad to see such an artifact was not lost to a dragon,” Though he was thanking the group, his tone was impatient, and rude.

“How did you even let this thing get stolen, I mean if it’s basically dragon bait, why didn’t you beef up security or something?” Rainbow Dash was clearly enjoying pestering the up-tight stallion.

“Heavenly Shimmer’s Mirror was accidentally included in an exhibit being shipped to Manehatten due to a...clerical error—again, I am so very sorry, Princess.” Celestia only chuckled, finding the number of times he had apologized becoming amusing.

“So the mirror wasn’t even supposed to be included in the exhibit?” Twilight looked at the curator and the princess, puzzled. In that instant Celestia’s humor vanished, and was replaced with a small blush. Both ponies gave her a small uncomfortable nod. Clearly, the curator was embarrassed about the mix-up, and Celestia was equally ashamed about having her student clean up the accident.

Twilight hefted her saddlebag off her back, before fishing the mirror out with her mouth. She suddenly felt slightly embarrassed about having to grab something with her mouth, rather than magic. It wasn’t unheard of for a unicorn to use their mouth, but still a bit of a rare sight, and now that she was a pegasus, she didn’t have any other choice but to use her mouth. She carefully dropped the mirror into her hoof before presenting it to the princess. Her teacher refused the item by holding up her hoof.

“The item was being stored for her majesty indefinitely, but due to somepony’s blunder, it was labeled as part of the Equestrian History exhibit. Again Princess I’m—”

“Sorry?” she asked, finish his question with a small smirk.

“Y-Yes,” he muttered, blushing slightly.

“Equestrian History? Who was silly enough to make such a mistake? I mean for goodness sake, Twilight couldn’t even find any information on this pony. At a museum you would think ponies would know a thing or two about history.” Rarity added. Her criticism caused the lanky stallion’s face to shift into a brighter shade of red before shaking off his embarrassment.

“They were new,” he muttered as he adjusted his glasses.

“Still, something this powerful...The unicorn who made it had to have left a mark on history, it’s odd that I couldn’t find anything about him...” Twilight remarked, looking into the pristine surface of the mirror once more.

“Very astute, Twilight. Normally a pony of such talent would certainly leave their mark on history. However, Heavenly Shimmer made a choice to keep himself out of the history books. He published all of his spells anonymously for the reason that he felt he did not deserve recognition.” Celestia had a smile that told everyone in the room she knew more on the subject, but chose to leave it off there. Twilight’s wanting eyes, pleaded with her teacher, begging for more, to which Celestia nodded softly. “Flawless Masterpiece, would you please excuse us, I have much to discuss with my student and her friends concerning their...situation.”

“What about the, umm...mirror, your majesty?” he asked with a sudden wave of nervousness washing over him.

“I will contact you again soon, as to when you can come retrieve the mirror,” she replied. The curator nodded his head before bowing to the princess. After a moment he took his leave, quickly rushing past the group of friends, and out of the throne room.

“I would like to start by thanking the six of you for returning the mirror to me. And I would also like to ask exactly what were the circumstances leading up to your...transformation?” She raised her eyebrow which was quickly followed by that all-knowing smile reappearing on her face. Celestia had a lousy poker face, but everyone in the room knew it only lousy because she wanted it to be lousy. Any other time it was impossible to know what the ancient ruler was thinking.

Twilight fidgeted a bit, trying to work up the courage to explain the situation. This had been the moment she was dreading, when she would have to explain her failure to her teacher. “W-Well, as you may know, a few days ago it was rather, umm...hot out...and that combined with the stress of climbing a mountain to the dragon’s lair, as well as some other...umm...mild irritations along the way led to tempers running high.” Twilight forced an awkward smile on her face, trying to garner some sympathy. This only seemed to backfire as the princess looked more amused than sympathetic. After she fought the urge to laugh, Celestia gave a nod, urging the group to continue their story.

“Basically, yer majesty, we all might’a said a few thing we regret...” Applejack added while rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.

“I see...” Celestia’s smile slowly faded as she forced a serious look onto her face. “I take it your races are the only thing changed?” she asked, causing a bit of surprise among the group. Twilight looked at her friends, seeing they were just as confused as she was.

“Could anything else have changed?” Rarity asked with more than a mild amount of worry in her voice. She glanced back at her cutie mark first, still finding the three diamonds she had always had. She ran over the rest of her body with a quick glance once again, much as she had done after she noticed the change and things had calmed down.

“The changes I speak of would not be on the outside, my little ponies.” Celestia said with a small laugh as the group inspected themselves. The ponies looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to elaborate more.

“Perhaps it would be best if I told you the whole story. Twilight, I believe you would enjoy hearing this very much, since Heavenly Shimmer was a unicorn comparable in strength and skill to a hero of yours, Star Swirl the Bearded.” The princess gave her student a sly smile, knowing her little tag line would capture her student’s attention rather quickly.

Twilight’s eyes beamed with excitement. “Comparable to Star Swirl the Bearded?” Twilight was in awe for a moment as she mused how powerful of a unicorn he must have been.

“Who cares...” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“You should care, Rainbow Dash. You won’t be able to return to normal until you take this story to heart, and learn from Heavenly Shimmer.” Celestia said in a kind, but firm tone. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the lecture. After a brief moment, she reluctantly sat down and let out a drawn out sigh. “The story begins over two thousand years ago with an evil, and powerful unicorn by the name of Dark Star,” she began.

Dark Star was a pony exceptionally gifted in magic, perhaps the likes of which have not been seen since. He possessed a brilliant mind, was a masterful spell crafter, and had such charisma about him. But he was also a power-hungry tyrant who would stop at nothing to accomplish his goals. Back then, as you all should know from the play you put on during Hearth's Warming Eve, the three tribes were split from one another. At this point in history, Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were bitter rivals locked in a constant state of cold war, both with one another, and even amongst themselves. It wasn’t uncommon for self-proclaimed rulers to rise, and attack surrounding villages of their own race just to bring them under their control. Life was hard back then, and it was truly a trying time for pony kind.

It was in this strife that Dark Star rose to power by killing a king, and assuming control of his own kingdom of unicorns. It didn’t take long for his new subjects to bow before the charismatic pony, with his promises of wealth, and power. He made his goal no secret to his new subjects; he wanted to conquer the entire unicorn tribe. Yet this was only a stepping-stone. He planned to then use the combined might of the unicorns to conquer the other two tribes and unite all of pony kind under his tyranny. It was an ambitious goal to say the least, but the tyrant invigorated his followers, demonstrating his power by easily bringing in the surrounding villages under his control.

As I said, Dark Star was a rather intelligent pony, and he was well aware of his short comings. Unicorns, were not the most suitable foot solders, and Dark Star knew this. His kingdom was mostly poets, writers, and scholars. Outside of his guards, hardly any of them knew combat magic, and even fewer had ever actually used it. Yet he still formed an army, and had them train tirelessly.

Advantages is what war is all about, creating them, and seizing them when the opportunity arises. Dark Star knew his army wouldn’t stand a chance in combat against the fortifications and combat skills of the earth ponies, the air strikes of the pegasi, or the spell bombardments of the other unicorn kingdoms. For those advantages he sought after, he trained his solders in dark magic we would consider forbidden today. Yet he still knew even that would not be enough to guarantee his victory in the coming battles.

He devised a plan to cause chaos in the ranks of his enemies, leaving them in complete disarray, while also giving himself an advantage. His plan was beyond clever, almost to the point of foolish. No pony would have believed it possible, except those familiar with Dark Star. For his plan to work, he would need a tool, a magical conduit to pour his foul magic into. He spent years crating such an item, and weaving his dark magic into it.

“That item is the mirror in your possession, Twilight.” The princess nodded to her student, anticipating her question. Twilight and her friends all exchanged worried glances.

“This mirror?” Applejack looked at the small mirror in Twilight’s hooves. The princess gave a small nod. “I thought ya said this thing’s magic weren’t evil’er nothin’, Princess.” The cowpony gave a cautious glance at the artifact.

“All in due time, Applejack,” she replied. “It is here in our story that a young pegasus colt by the name of Skychaser comes in.”

“Hold on, I thought this was a story about Heavenly Shimmer. First you started talking about this Dark Star guy, and now a pegasus named Skychaser? I mean, where is Heavenly Shimmer in all of this?” Rainbow Dash gave a skeptical look to the ancient ruler. “...Y-Your majesty...” she added after realizing how outright rude her tone was. The unicorn sunk down a bit, forcing an awkward smile on her face. The sight caused Celestia to chuckle a bit.

“I-I’m actually a little curious about this myself...” Fluttershy peeped from behind Twilight.

“In due time, my little ponies.”

Skychaser was an average pegasus colt, raised by two pegasi parents in a small cloud village. He spent his time playing in the clouds with friends, enjoying his youth, and generally causing trouble as young ponies often do. However, this all changed one day when he was out alone. On this day, he had the misfortune of being attacked by a group of unicorns under the command of Dark Star.

The young colt was taken by the group of unicorns, away from his family and friends to be imprisoned. They threw the young colt in a cell, and kept him against his will. For ten years he was tortured, and had unthinkable magical experiments done to him. In his years of imprisonment, Dark Star chose him as the primary focus for his new weapon. All that time, perfecting its twisted magic for combat use. According to records, the mirror changed his race, his talents, and even his cutie mark on several occasions.

“But why?” Twilight interrupted.

“Dark Star believed that switching races between two armies would cause chaos. Unicorns wouldn’t know how to fight without magic, pegasi would fall from the sky, and earth ponies would be made far more vulnerable and physically weaker. His army on the other hoof, would train under the effects of the mirror. Turning them into a versatile army of ponies able to utilize every race’s strength.”

“That’s terrible...” Fluttershy said.

“To add even further to this, his army of scholars would become an army of fierce warriors by changing talents, and cutie marks; turning his army’s greatest weakness into its strength.”

“So, by taking a pony’s talent for combat, and their destiny, his band of intellectuals would become an actual army...” Twilight added with a sense of dread in her voice.

“Yes, leaving the opposing army with weakened, disoriented ponies, who no longer had innate talents for fighting, but instead had skills in poetry, and the arts. You all have experienced what it is like to change races. I’m sure you can protest to how unsettling, and shocking it can be.” The group of friends agreed without any hesitation.

Skychaser spent years being the primary subject of Dark Star’s experiments. As the time went on, he slowly became accustom to an earth pony’s strength, and a unicorn’s magic. He was able to teach himself some basic spells that any unicorn can do, such as levitation, and simple magical blasts for self defense. This became his method of passing time when he was locked away. Slowly as he became accustom to magic, he began to understand that he could hurt a pony if he needed. A plan started to form in the stallion’s head.

Any pony held captive, and subjected to what he was put through would dream of freedom. Skychaser spent his time exercising his magic power, slowly understanding how it worked—not a simple task for a pegasus-born pony. He started spending his time during experiments watching Dark Star. Carefully he observed how the tyrant used the mirror, slowly memorizing how the item worked. It took him the entirety of his ten years of imprisonment until he was confident enough that he could escape.

The day he happened to break free, was on the day Dark Star was performing the final test; the day before Dark Star would have unleashed his foul magic unto the world. Dark Star entered the room he had been using for experiments, bringing in a captured unicorn test subject with him. For Skychaser, this couldn’t have gone better, he was already an earth pony from the previous test, which meant this was his moment; this was his chance he had been waiting for

As soon as Dark Star turned Skychaser into a unicorn, the young stallion shot him with a quick blast of magic, dazing the tyrant. In that moment Skychaser got his chance. His attack gave him just enough time to snatch the mirror from stunned ruler. Dark Star’s carelessness was his downfall. He felt he didn’t need to be on guard with a pegasus who didn’t know the first thing about unicorn magic—at least that is what he thought. His own pride blinded him from seeing that a non unicorn could learn to use magic.

With the mirror in Skychaser’s hooves, it was now the moment of truth. He mimicked the tyrant‘s spell, and fortunately for him, it worked. The mirror activated in a blinding flash. This was the end for Dark Star. In that flash of light, Skychaser changed the unicorn test subject back, changed Dark Star into an earth pony, and traded a few pegasus talents of his with Dark Star‘s talents for magic—all to ensure that the evil pony would never again be able to make such an item.

“That’s...wow...” Twilight said, trying to wrap her head around what she just heard.

“So he stole Dark Star’s talents? And just left him there as a hodgepodge of a pony?” Rarity asked. The princess nodded her head to the designer, a solemn look in her eyes.

“That’s pretty awesome...and mean at the same time...” Rainbow commented.

“It sounds like this Dark Star was a ruthless monster. I find it an appropriate punishment for a pony who had such little regard for others.” Twilight replied. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded their heads.

Skychaser fired yet another blast, wounding Dark Star, and sending the tyrant flying across the room. That was the last time Skychaser ever saw the evil unicorn again. He freed his fellow captive, and fled the castle. The two narrowly managed to escape Dark Star’s solders, and finally earn their freedom. Skychaser was finally a free pony once more, but for him it was a bittersweet victory; he was free, but still trapped. Skychaser was originally a pegasus, and he longed for his family, and friends. He longed to return to the normalcy he had before Dark Star took that all way from him. He longed for the sky.

Yet, he had in his hooves the power to change his fate, and become a pegasus again. But at what cost? He could not bring himself to curse another pony with the fate that had befallen him—it was too cruel. In Skychaser’s eyes Dark Star deserved his fate, but any other pony was innocent. Instead he vowed to find another way to return home once more, without the need of the mirror. He parted ways with his former cellmate soon after their escape, letting the unicorn return to his own family.

Skychaser became a nomad, a wandering pony who traveled from village to village, looking for instruction on magic. He had decided that delving into unicorn magic was his best bet for finding a way to be reunited with his family. Fortunately, with Dark Star’s talents, he found magic was easy enough to understand, and was able to master spells quickly. He learned what most unicorns would spend years trying in mere months; perfecting spells that take years of practice with relative ease.

“Eventually Skychaser became a powerful unicorn in his own right. He made a spell, one that you yourself used to visit Cloudsdale during the Best Young Flyers Competition, Twilight.” Celestia gave a small smirk to her student.

“Wait, he invented that cloud walking spell?” Twilight’s eyes widened a bit.

“Just to see his family again? That’s so sweet,” Rarity said with a small smile spreading across her face.

Unfortunately for Skychaser, life was not always so easy. The pegasi of his former village weren’t so accepting of a unicorn walking on the clouds. He was treated as a monster, and forcibly removed from the town. Just before he was ejected, he learned his father had passed away in a weather accident. His mother remarried, and left the village. His years of absence had left the veil of childhood naiveté over his eyes when it came to the outside world. While he was locked away by Dark Star, he put the outside world on a pedestal. He truly believed things were perfect, at least in his village. This ideal was shattered once he returned home only to be treated as a monster, and further still to find his family was broken. Even his former friends, they had been the very ones to throw him out, claiming that the Skychaser they knew had died long ago.

Most ponies would have been devastated from such a realization, but Skychaser was different. He did curse his misfortune for a time, but he understood something other ponies of that era did not. He was still the same pony he was all those years ago. He knew he was no different as a unicorn than he was as an earth pony than he was as a pegasus. Skychaser was still himself regardless of what race he was, if only he could make other ponies realize that as well. Then it dawned on the young stallion. He had the power in his hooves to make a difference in the world, and show ponies the lesson he had learned himself.

He looked at the mirror he had been carrying all this time, and vowed to take this curse, and change it into something that the world can learn from. He set out to teach ponies that their differences are only superficial. That all ponies, whether they are pegasi, unicorn, or earth ponies, are still ponies. For this change in his way of thinking, he cast off the name Skychaser, and took on the name Heavenly Shimmer. He chose the name as a way to embrace the unicorn he had become, while still acknowledging his pegasi roots.

He spent the remaining years of his life dissecting the vast, and complex enchantments placed on the mirror, finding many of them to be beyond his level of understanding. It took him years of study to even be able to comprehend the spider web of enchantments Dark Star had woven into the mirror.

Celestia levitated the mirror from Twilight‘s hoof to her own. “For instance, he found this mirror is nigh indestructible. Most magic will bounce off it, physical attacks won’t so much as scratch its surface, even time has not worn on this artifact,” Celestia explained. Twilight let out a sudden cough, as she tried to push their previous attempt at activating the mirror out of her mind.

“After years of study, he was able to change how the mirror activates. It is no longer able to be used purposefully. Now it reacts to emotions of those around it—particularly those of intolerance, and jealousy.” Celestia looked at the ponies with knowing eyes as they all fidgeted slightly. Not one of them wanted to admit it, but they had all felt like that on their trip, and in that final argument right before the mirror activated.

“We only said a few mean thing ta each other, ya mean ta tell me that mirror changed us on account’a that?”

Celestia gave a small nod. “Intolerance is intolerance, and that is what the mirror will act on. Whether it’s short-lived or long-harbored, the mirror still casts its spell all the same. It matters what is in your hearts at the moment.”

“So...how do we fix this?” Twilight finally asked the question she and her friend‘s had been waiting for. She gave a quick glace back at her wings, with an uncertainty in her eyes.

“You don’t. The mirror will reverse the spell on its own after you all take Heavenly Shimmer’s lesson to heart.” Celestia have a warm smile to the group of friends. “Once you truly understand what he wanted to teach the world, the mirror will change you back.”

“So, what was the lesson exactly?” Pinkie asked, scratching her head slightly.

“To not judge a book by its cover?” Fluttershy asked.

“I thought it was treat ponies how ya want ta be treated...” Applejack scratched her head as well, seeming rather confused by the long story.

“Oh! Beauty is only skin deep?” Pinkie giggled.

“Now you’re just saying old phrases...” Rarity covered her face with her hoof while shaking her head.

“It was: no matter what, every pony is still a pony, and we need to try and understand them for who they are, not what they are...” Twilight said in an intellectual tone like she was reciting an answer for a test.

“Well, we can say we know what that means, but how do we know we know what that means, ya know?” Pinkie asked with a puzzled look, not sure if she herself understood what she was asking.

“Why don’t you try learning from one another?” the princess suggested. “Each of you has spent your whole lives as a race of pony, certainly you can help your friends understand what it’s like to live in your shoes for a little while.”

“I suppose that could work...” Twilight muttered, pondering for a moment.

“Yeah right, I don’t want to teach Twilight how to fly. She doesn’t know the first thing about being a pegasus!” Rainbow Dash suddenly said with a stubborn look in her eyes.

“That’s why you would need to teach me,” Twilight said rolling her eyes.

“Alright then, first lesson.” Rainbow Dash, stuck up her hoof, indicating the number one. After a second she flipped her wrist, pointing at Twilight’s wing. “Fix your wings, because if you even try flying with those you’re going to hurt yourself.” The former pegasus gave a condescending gaze to Twilight’s new wings.

“What’s wrong with my wings?” she asked, unfurling them. She glanced back at her recent feathery additions, inspecting them closely. After a moment of staring at the feathers, she still wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She shot her eyes back to Rainbow Dash, giving her a suspicious look.

“They’re a disaster,” she added, raising an eyebrow to Twilight.

“They look fine to me.” Twilight brushed off her friend’s comment, giving her wings a small flap in retort. Suddenly a stinging sensation flowed up from her sides causing her to yelp slightly.

“Umm, Twilight? Your feather’s are messy. They need to be straightened, or else it will sting really bad when you try to flap them.” Fluttershy said, peeking out from behind her mane. “I-I didn’t want to say anything before, but now that Rainbow brought it up...” she muttered before ducking back behind her pink locks.

Twilight looked around in shock for a few moments, unsure how to handle what she had been told. No one had ever called her messy before. She was always neat, and tidy in her appearance. Then again, she never had to care for wings before, so how would she know how to upkeep them. Her cheeks turned a shade of red, as she tried to hide her embarrassment. “P-Princess, thank you for your time,” she muttered before trying to slip away.

The princess stifled a small giggle from seeing her student so embarrassed. “Oh, Twilight! Please take the mirror with you. You will need it on hoof for it to fix the spell.” Celestia called after her student.

Twilight stopped in her tracks after registering what Celestia said. “W-Wait, I have to keep it?” she asked for confirmation. The princess nodded firmly, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Twilight’s mouth hung open slightly as she debated whether to object, but she reasoned that if she needed the mirror to fix the spell, then there wasn‘t any way around it. She didn’t want to keep an ancient relic that turned her life up-side-down in the library, but after she saw Celestia’s eyes, she knew there was no room for negotiation. The newly-winged student nodded weakly as the princess levitated the mirror to her.

“Return the mirror to me next week,” Celestia added, giving her student a small smile.

“You’re only giving us a week to fix this?” she asked after stashing the mirror away in her saddlebag, only to receive the same firm nod as a response. Twilight sunk down a bit, suddenly feeling an immense pressure on her heart. She couldn’t very well let her teacher and her friends down, but a week didn’t seem like enough time to take such a life lesson to heart. Twilight knew what the lesson was, she understood it enough, but she obviously didn’t know it the way Heavenly Shimmer wanted ponies to know it, or the mirror would have fixed them already. That panicky feeling she usually got when she felt rushed was coming on already. “S-So by a week you mean—”

“Seven days, Twilight,” Celestia confirmed. She still had a small smile on her face, though it hinted more at a sense of sadistic enjoyment, than the warm smile she often wore for her student.

“Seven days from today?” Twilight asked in an ever shrinking voice.

“Seven days from today,” Celestia replied, continuing to torment her student. Her sly smile grew ever so slightly when Twilight let out a small eep.

Twilight lowered her head, before nodding to her teacher. “Well, we had best be going. Thank you for your time, Princess,” she muttered as she turned to leave.

“Also, just try to enjoy yourself. This is a rare opportunity that hardly anypony has had,” she added, causing Twilight to stop once more. “And that goes for all of you. I urge you to spend time exploring your new race, and not to just focus on your lesson.”

“What fun could I possibly have as a unicorn...” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.

“You never know Rainbow Dash, that’s for you to find out,” she gave a confident smile to Rainbow Dash. “Be safe, and try not to fight, my little ponies.”

Twilight, and her friends sat quietly on the train back to Ponyville, letting the news they heard sink in. Rainbow Dash was laying on a bench by herself, appearing to be asleep. Across from her sat Pinkie, whose wings still fluttered frequently enough that no one wanted to sit next to her for fear of being feather-dusted to death. Twilight sat next to Fluttershy on the adjacent bench, while Rarity and Applejack shared a bench across from Twilight, much to the cowpony’s chagrin. An awkward silence filled the car, with the group of friends being the sole passengers.

Twilight stared out the window, trying to wrap her head around the story the princess had told them. She had to learn a lesson about tolerance, but that in itself she struggled with. She had always considered herself a rather tolerant pony already—except for those few off comments she made to Rainbow Dash on their way up the mountain—she never thought herself better than a pegasus, or an earth pony by any means. Twilight had always been nice, and helpful to other ponies.

Yet here she was, a pegasus, and not a unicorn. Her only hint to figuring out this mess was that she had to learn Heavenly Shimmer’s lesson, and that upset her more than anything. How would she know when she learned the lesson? Would the mirror just suddenly activate, and fix her? Would she have to wait for her friends to learn it before the mirror fixed them? How does the mirror know when she sufficiently learned her lesson? She just wanted to hit her hoof against the floor she was so frustrated. It felt like she was given a test with no prior notice, and she didn’t know what subject it was on. She was running a race without a goal line in front of her. She had absolutely no idea what the criteria for fixing this problem were.

To make matters worse, her friends didn’t look like they would go along with the princess‘s suggestion. Applejack looked like she was about on her last straw with Rarity, Fluttershy was completely unresponsive to any discussion on the matter, and Rainbow Dash was jumping on Twilight’s back every chance she got. She felt completely alone in this situation. They all had to learn this lesson together, but none of them looked like they were ready to cooperate. Twilight was at a complete loss for what to do, and that was a new sensation for her. She felt like she was going to be stuck as a pegasus for the rest of her life.

“What’d y’all think she meant by “explore yer new race”?” Applejack asked finally breaking the silence.

“Who knows, or cares. We just gotta be nice to each other right?” Rainbow Dash replied, letting her friend’s know she wasn’t asleep.

“No, we have to be tolerant of other ponies,” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Ya better care, we gotta know to fix this whole mess. I don’t think she’d tell us somethin‘ if it weren‘t important.” Applejack put her foreleg against the wall of the train, and rest her head against her hoof.

“Maybe it‘s like a riddle or something?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side. “What do you think, Twilight?”

“I don‘t know, Pinkie! We only have a week to fix this, and then Princess Celestia is taking the mirror back. If we don’t have it fixed by then, we’re going to be stuck like this!” Twilight yelled, letting loose some of her pent-up anxiety. Pinkie and Applejack looked at Twilight with wide eyes, rather confused by her sudden outburst.

“For goodness sake, Twilight, calm down. I-I’m sure we could ask her to borrow the mirror again once we learn this little life lesson,” Rarity replied. “You’re far to worried about this, darling.” Rarity was busy staring at the floor the whole time she spoke. Her voice was trembling the entire time as well. When Twilight looked over at her, she saw her hoof was shaking slightly.

“Says the pony who’s still fussin’ over coverin’ up her head. Am I ever gonna get my Pa’s hat back?” Applejack narrowed her eyes.

“O-Of course, I just need to make myself a hat,” Rarity said, nervously. She still had her eyes glued to the floor.

Applejack gave her a deadpan look. “Ya said that yesterday. Now, it don‘t usually take ya this long ta make somethin’ unless it’s mighty special. When ya gonna go ahead and git it done?”

“S-Soon...” Rarity turned her head away so Applejack couldn’t see her face. Her hooves went from shaking to fidgeting under her. Rarity was clearly hiding something from her friends, her body language spoke volumes. Once she realized just how suspicious she had to look, she forced her hooves still by pressing down on the bench she was sitting on.

The cowpony narrowed her gaze in on Rarity, seeing something was amiss. “Somethin’ the matter there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, probing the former unicorn for answers.

“Nothing is the matter, Applejack, I’m just...tired...” she muttered.

“U-Umm, Rarity? You’re breaking the bench...” Fluttershy pointed down at the cracking bench Applejack and Rarity were both sitting on. Everyone’s eyes stared as the wood splitting from Rarity’s iron grip on it. Carefully, she pulled her hoof back from the mangled wood, her face flushing red in shame.

“Whoops,” she said with an awkward smile. She finally looked up at her friends, but her eyes darted around, scanning their faces.

“Ya can’t control yer strength, can ya...” Applejack asked plainly.

“Of course I can! It’s just...everything is so very fragile...” She pulled her hooves in close, and began twiddling them to occupy herself.

“Uh-huh, now that’s a load of bull and ya know it.” Applejack continued staring at her friend. Her gaze felt like a tidal wave, pushing Rarity for a confession of whatever she was hiding.

“It most certainly is not,” the designer replied.

“Is so.”

“Rarity, if you don’t tell us what’s wrong, we can’t help you out.” Twilight said in a gentle tone to coax the truth out from her. Her more friendly approach seemed to work over Applejack’s when Rarity actually made eye contact.

After staring at Twilight for a moment, Rarity took a deep breath to ready herself. “Fine, I can’t sew.” she said quickly. Her cheeks were almost glowing red in contrast to her pale coat once she said what she had to say.

Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy all looked at one another, not quite sure if she said what they think she said. “You can’t sew?” Twilight asked hesitantly. Rarity only nodded to her friend. Her eyes were closed, and she hung her head low as her shame was dragged out into the open.

As she looked at her ashamed friend, Applejack suddenly felt incredibly guilty over hounding her over a hat. As she watched the dejected designer sit there, moping, she realized Rarity was simply too ashamed of herself to tell Applejack the real reason for keeping the hat. She had only held onto it because she didn’t want to admit her inability to sew to her friends. Whether it was pity or a desire to help a friend, Applejack didn’t care if Rarity had her hat anymore.

Granted Rarity had plenty of other hats she could have worn other than Applejack’s. But she had lent her that hat, and an Apple never went back on their word. That meant that Rarity could use Applejack’s hat for as long as she needed to. A soft smile, and a heartfelt gaze came from Applejack as she was happy that her friend finally came clean on what was bothering her. She placed a hoof on the designer’s shoulder to comfort her. “Sorry, I uhh...didn’t realize ya were havin’ such a hard time,” she said in a low tone.

“It has become rather difficult for me to sew without magic...I’m not used to this strength, nor do I have the dexterity I had with magic.” she added, pulling her hat down to cover her eyes.

“What do you mean? Earth ponies are plenty dexterous, just look at me! I’m like a baker or something, and I get by! Do you know how hard it is to do all those designs on cupcakes?” Pinkie suddenly slipped next to Rarity, wrapping a foreleg around the designer as she slid into place.

“She’s right, I ain’t ever had a problem doin’ delicate stuff on account of me bein’ an earth pony.” Applejack flashed a bit of confidence at the designer to lift her spirits, but it wasn’t working.

“Please, you two obviously don’t know how delicate my designs are. It takes perfect precision for me to sew my beautiful masterpieces. Precision only magic can bring!” Rarity shrugged off her two friend’s hooves.

“Actually Rarity, there are plenty of earth pony and pegasus designers. I’m sure you can do fine without magic too,” Twilight added. All the ponies gathered around Rarity nodded.

“If yer lookin’ fer somepony ta teach ya the ropes of bein’ an earth pony I can lend ya a hoof if ya want.” Applejack put her hoof back around the designer, pulling her in close. This time it was more a show of friendship than comfort.

“I have no intention of getting used to this...” she muttered, fixing her hat after being pulled into Applejack’s chest.

“Oh that’s a good idea! We can pair up with a pony who used our current race!” Pinkie suggested in a rare display of brilliance. Her friends looked at he with a bit of shock. After a moment, they all nodded to one another, seeing her line of reasoning. It wasn’t a bad plan at all, Pinkie was two for two that day, a new record.

“That could actually work, Pinkie.” Twilight was genuinely surprised by the spastic pony’s proposition.

“Well...since we have to learn to understand our new race, you might as well let Applejack teach about being an earth pony, Rarity...And you can help her out with magic too....oh, if that‘s okay, I mean...” Fluttershy started to fall quiet as she spoke, her insecurity catching up with her mid suggestion.

Rarity took a moment to think about what Fluttershy said. “I-I suppose I could lend a hoof...if you’re willing to lend one to me...” she finally said, though be it with a bit of reluctance.

Applejack laughed a bit at how much face Rarity was trying to save. “Sure thing, sugarcube.” She extended a hoof for a shake on their deal. Rarity stared down at the offered hoof for a moment, inspecting it for dirt or grime. When she didn’t find any, she cautiously accepted the arrangement by giving Applejack‘s hoof a small shake with her own.

“That’s the spirit, Rarity! I guess that means me and Fluttershy are going to help each other!” Pinkie jumped off the bench. Once she hit the floor, she wrapped her shy friend in a tight hug.

“I-I guess that’s fine...” Fluttershy mumbled nervously. Her eyes darted around looking for an escape from Pinkie’s hug.

Twilight realized this was her chance. “Fluttershy, you really haven’t told us if you’ve been struggling with anything.” Twilight probed, taking her opportunity to find out how the introverted pony was coping. The shy mare froze solid at Twilight’s remark, meaning her shut down sequence was activating.

“Umm, t-things have been fine...” she said barely louder than a whisper. Her friends wouldn’t have heard her if they weren’t so used to her hushed tones.

“Oh come now, Fluttershy. You have heard my little problem, why don’t we hear yours?” Rarity asked, knowing she was hiding something.

“I-I’d rather not...” Her mane seemed to shift on its own, covering her face. Her eyes instinctively found their way down to the floor, avoiding everyone’s gaze. Her whole body shrunk as she tried to make herself take up the least amount of space possible, subconsciously hoping she would just vanish. Fluttershy’s defense mode was fully operational, and that meant she wouldn’t look at any of the ponies pressuring her. Twilight wasn‘t deterred. She knew this was her opportunity to gauge how Fluttershy was reacting to being changed into an earth pony, but before she could speak Rainbow Dash let out a loud groan.

“Fluttershy, we’ve all got issues with this, Twilight can’t fly worth jack, Applejack almost broke her legs, Rarity’s breaking things like Ditzy Do in a china shop, Pinkie’s wings are spazing out, and I suck at magic, so what’s your deal, huh?” Rainbow Dash shot up from her nap on the bench adjacent to Twilight and Fluttershy, her voice radiating with aggravation.

Fluttershy snapped up straight from her hunched posture. “A-Angel bunny...” she muttered with tears coming to her eyes.

“What about Angel?” Twilight asked with concern.

“L-Last night...when I was grooming him...I-I think I hurt him...” Fluttershy sobbed into her hooves.

“You hurt him? How?” Rarity inched closer.

“When I was brushing him...I pressed a little to hard, and he scurried away...Now he won’t even come near me...” She looked up with tear filled eyes.

“Oh, you poor dear.” Rarity sat next to Fluttershy, pulling her into a hug.

“He’s probably fine,” Rainbow said, lying back down.

“Rainbow Dash, be a little more sensitive! She’s heart broken.” Rarity glared at her.

“I couldn’t reach the bird feeders either to take care of the birds...” Fluttershy added, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Well, I can help you with that!” Pinkie giggled.

“How?” Fluttershy asked.

“Simple, I can just show you how to not push down on things so hard, and how to jump so you can take care of the birds!” Pinkie gave Flutter shy a big smile.

“Jump?”

“Yeah, I jump all the time. You can reach those high feeders of yours pretty easy if you bounce right.” The bubbly pony gave a smile. Her confidence told everyone that she thought it was common knowledge how to jump so high.

“I-I’m not too sure...”

“Actually, I think it would be a good match for you two to help each other. Pinkie can help you get your strength under control, and you can help her with...“ Twilight paused for a moment, seeing that Pinkie’s wings chose that moment to flutter quickly, causing a small gust. “...calming down, since those wings of hers just won’t stop.”

“I guess that makes sense...” Fluttershy didn’t sound too convinced.

“I jus’ hope we can get this together in a week...wait...Ah dagnabbit, my family is back in town tonight. I‘m gonna have a whole mess of explainin’ ta do...” Applejack put a hoof to her head, starting to plan how to break it to her brother, sister, and granny.

“Oh no, Sweetie Belle! I have to watch her this week while my parents are out of town!” Rarity’s eyes shot opened at the sudden realization.

“What’s so special about that?” Rainbow Dash asked as she sat up, deciding to join in the conversation again.

“How am I going to explain a lack of a horn to my sister?” she asked rhetorically while pointing to her forehead. “Maybe we can just hide it? What do you think, Applejack?”

“How the hay am I gonna hide a horn on my head without my hat?” she asked as she gave an unenthused look.

“You’re right...you will need to go buy a new hat.” Rarity placed her hoof to her chin as she ran through a mental list as to where Applejack could buy a new hat.

“Ya know what, I don’t feel sorry fer ya no more. Give me my hat back!” She said snatching her hat off of Rarity‘s head.

“How dare you!” she gasped, covering her forehead in shame.

Applejack gave a smirk, as she put her trademark stetson hat back on her head. The first thing she did was unceremoniously pull Twilight’s lavender feather out from its resting place in the hat, and toss it aside. “Snooze ya lose, Sugarcube.” She gave a small chuckle as she adjusted her hat so it sat further back on her head, giving her new horn some room to breathe.

“Give it back please, Applejack?” she pleaded, but Applejack only shook her head.

“Yer jus’ gonna have ta face the music, Rarity,” the cowpony said with a chuckle. “Cause I ain’t givin’ ya back my hat.”

“Oh for the love of—who cares if your sisters are coming!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“We care, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity argued.

“Actually, I don’ really care that much, jus’ gonna be a mess ta explain s’all,” Applejack said, scratching the side of her face.

Rarity stared at her almost in shock. “Applejack, have you no pride as an earth pony? Surely you must be worried what ponies will say, or think about you?”

“Rarity, most of us have already been seen around town with our changes. It’s not like Pinkie Pie and I can wear a hat to cover our wings...And besides, you wearing Applejack’s hat has probably already drawn some suspicion.” Twilight’s explanation only caused a look of dread in the designer as the realization that everyone already knew she was an earth pony sank in.

“Ya really didn’t think walkin’ around Ponyville wit’ me ‘n Fluttershy would draw some attention ta ya, sugarcube?” Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at Rarity’s short-sightedness

“I-I was a little preoccupied thinking about fixing this whole mess!” she snapped. Her defense only made Applejack laugh harder.

“So, I guess that means you and Rainbow Dash will be helping each other out?” Fluttershy asked Twilight.

“Of course, if you think about it, me and Fluttershy used to be each other’s races, so did Rarity and Applejack, and Twilight and Rainbow Dash! It’s almost like this whole situation was planned! They have to help each other out!” Pinkie’s wings began to flap as she spoke, lifting her off the bench just a bit. When she stopped talking, he wings snapped back down to her side, causing her to plop back down in her seat. “That’s how stories work!” Everyone shot confused glances to one another, not too sure what she was talking about.

“What?” Twilight asked, voicing everyone’s confusion.

“This is a pretty common set-up in books,” she added. Twilight slowly nodded her head, finally catching up to Pinkie’s train of thought.

“Forget it, I don’t want to learn how to use magic,” Rainbow Dash said stubbornly.

“You heard the princess, we have to spend some time learning about our current races, or else we won't turn back! So if you want to be a pegasus again, you’re going to have to give learning magic a shot!” Twilight jumped up, finally fed up with Rainbow Dash’s attitude. She walked across the isle to the bench Rainbow had been lying on this whole time to confront the irritable pony.

“So you want to teach me how to use magic, and I have to teach you how to fly? Please, you don’t deserve my awesome teaching skills.” Rainbow Dash hopped up, coming face to face with Twilight.

“Why are you being so difficult? Everypony else is willing to learn. We’re stuck this way for at least a week, longer if we don‘t learn this lesson!” The two ponies fumed at one another, unwilling to back down.

“Well, I don’t want to learn magic, okay?” Rainbow Dash, gave Twilight a small push back, getting her friend out of her face. Suddenly, a familiar burning started to build up in her forehead as her aggravation grew. She fell back on her hind legs, and immediately started rubbing her hooves against her head to relax the pain.

After Twilight regained her balance from Rainbow’s shove, she scoffed a bit at the inexperienced unicorn. “This is what I’m talking about. You have to learn magic to get this under control. Take a deep breath.”

“Shut up! I don’t need to learn to control magic! I just want this fixed!” She glared up at Twilight.

“Well, so do I, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled at her stubborn friend, suddenly grabbing the pain-stricken pony’s attention. “We all do, so stop being so selfish and let me help you out okay?”

She let out a sigh, avoiding the librarian’s gaze for a moment. “So coach me then.”

“Take a deep breath, and relax. Don’t focus on your horn. If you do the magic will continue to build there. Focus on your hooves, or something.” Twilight watched her friend, still seeing the magical aura building around her horn.

“I can’t...” she muttered. Her eyes were straining from the pain in her forehead. “It hurts too much!”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked to Rainbow Dash’s side. She kept a keen eye on Rainbow’s horn, seeing if the aura was dying down. When it didn’t, she gave a small kick to her side. Once Twilight’s hoof made contact, the aura died instantly.

“Why the hay did you kick me?” she asked, grabbing her side.

“It made you stop focusing on your horn didn’t it?” Twilight replied with a satisfied smirk. She couldn’t deny she got a bit of enjoyment out it, but it was also a quick way to get her to stop. “It was also for being such a brat.” Twilight added with a playful smirk.

Rainbow Dash simply stared at Twilight for a moment, in shock she would do such a thing. After a moment, she glanced down at her ribs, realizing they didn‘t hurt anymore. “I guess it did make me stop...” she muttered. Though she still wasn’t too pleased with the librarian’s action, it did at least have results.

Twilight took a seat next to Rainbow on the ground, wrapping a foreleg around her friend. “Now, how about you tell me what your issue is? It’s not all because of this change we went through, you weren’t this upset about it yesterday, so why are you so mad at me?”

“Because you have no pride as a pegasus!” She shrugged off Twilight’s foreleg, not in the mood to be comforted.

“Pride as a pegasus?” Twilight asked, looking over to Fluttershy for a bit of a hint. Fluttershy only nodded softly, silently understanding Rainbow Dash’s frustration.

“Umm, I think Rainbow Dash means when you gave Rarity a feather yesterday,” Fluttershy answered, to which Rainbow Dash gave a firm nod of agreement.

“You don’t do that! A pegasus just doesn’t hoof out feathers, and that goes for you too Pinkie!” She pointed an angry hoof at Pinkie, who was giggling a bit.

“Sorry, wings still kind of tickle,” she added, still stifling a laugh.

“I don’t really understand why...” Twilight asked.

“Of course you don’t...look, you just don‘t ever do that!” Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs. Her head locked off to the side, so she wouldn’t have to look at Twilight or any of her friends.

Everything fell silent for a moment, only broken by an occasional flap of Pinkie’s wings. Twilight didn’t know why Rainbow Dash was so upset over a silly feather. Was it really such a big deal that she needed to be upset at her for a whole day without even telling her why?

“I’m sorry?” Twilight said, not too sure if that’s what Rainbow Dash was looking for. Unfortunately, the athlete let out a big sigh, telling Twilight that wasn’t what she wanted.

“You’re not sorry though, you don’t even know what you did wrong! A pegasus’s wings are their pride and joy, you don’t just pluck a perfectly good feather from them for no reason. You have to take care of them!” She turned back to Twilight, poking an accusing hoof into her chest.

“A-Alright, I get it. No more giving out feathers.” Twilight, backed up, holding her hooves up in defense of the unicorn’s poking assault.

“That’s not all though, you have to act like a pegasus!” Dash added, sounding more like she was pleading than scolding at this point. “Pegasus ponies are strong, agile, and pure awesome! You have to walk tough, puff out your chest, and act like you’ve got a pair!” Rainbow continued to poke Twilight in the chest emphasizing every point she made. A short-lived silence fell over as Twilight felt confused by that last part.

“I think she means a pair of wings...”Fluttershy said, filling in the gap.

“O-Okay, I get it,” Twilight said, backing into the bench behind her, trying to avoid Rainbow Dash’s insistent poking.

“No you don’t! Stop saying you do! It’s like if a unicorn filed down their horn, you’d freak out about it, right? Or an earth pony not taking care of their hooves!” She shot a glance to Pinkie, stressing her last point.

“Not taking care of your hooves is just an outrage for anypony,” Rarity said with a dismissive laugh, acting as though the mere thought were absurd.

“If you’re going to spend some time as a pegasus, you have to try and be one! Don’t just expect that you‘re going to fly and that‘s it, it‘s not that simple!” She gave one final poke to Twilight’s chest, leaving her hoof in place.

As Twilight sat there being scolded by her friend, she couldn’t help but notice the pure passion in Rainbow Dash‘s eyes. She had never seen her talk so fervently before, even when she talking about The Wonderbolts. It made her realize just how important being a pegasus was to Rainbow Dash. For her, being a pegasus wasn’t just about flying, it was her job, her heritage, her entire life. She had never been upset because of a silly feather; she was upset because Twilight hadn’t cared about being a pegasus, just like Twilight was upset at Rainbow Dash for not caring about being a unicorn.

A small, gentle smile grew on Twilight‘s face as the answers to her questions started to come into focus. She had been saying they wanted to fix this, and when the princess told her to learn this lesson, she thought she needed to learn about pegasi, but that wasn’t it. She didn’t need to learn about pegasi, she needed to learn to be a pegasus. She had to grow an appreciation for it like Rainbow Dash had. She had to understand every aspect of being a pegasus, just as she understood what being a unicorn was like. It wasn’t a clear goal, but a state of mind that once she reached it, she would have learned her lesson.

“Well, I’ve never been a pegasus before, Rainbow Dash, so that’s why I need you to help me out with this, alright? And I can help you out with the unicorn stuff. Sound fair?” She slowly extended a hoof for a hoofshake.

Rainbow Dash was taken back by the offer for a moment. Twilight asking for her help had been the last thing she expected from the librarian. Until now Twilight had been rather demanding, expecting Rainbow to just teach her, and for Rainbow to learn magic like it was easy. But here she was now, not demanding, but asking Rainbow Dash for help, as a friend. She looked down at the extended hoof and then back up to Twilight. She could tell there was something different with her, something had just changed in her eyes. Only a second ago there was this forced sense of obligation; a sense that Twilight had to be a pegasus so she could turn back to normal, and that her friends all had to pretend they liked their new race as well so they could all be fixed. But now that was replaced by something softer in her eyes. Twilight had a look of understanding, like she legitimately wanted to try being a pegasus. That was what Rainbow Dash had been wanting from her friend, some sincerity.

Whatever Rainbow had explained to her seemed to get through. Twilight was actually being serious about learning how to be a pegasus. She could tell this wasn’t some silly experiment or study session to the librarian, now she really wanted to know what being a pegasus was like. That was a little exciting for Rainbow Dash. She would finally get to share the sheer awesomeness of being a pegasus with a pony who never felt it before. Best yet, she would get to share this sensation with a friend. Suddenly she thrust her hoof into Twilight’s, and gave it an abrupt shake. “Alright I guess I can help, but only because we’re friends,” Rainbow Dash added, with a confident small smile.

Twilight returned her cocky friend’s smile. For the first time since she had changed, she felt excited. The princess had told them that this was a rare chance, and Twilight had the opportunity that no other unicorn had. She could actually experience life as a different kind of pony. As Twilight and Rainbow Dash made up from their little squabble, a sudden pulse of light from her saddlebag drew the everyone’s attention. With a nod from the librarian, Applejack reached into the bag, and pulled out the ancient mirror. Once free of its confines, the item pulsed again with a strange glow. “I think that means we’re on the right track,” Twilight said with a small laugh.

Author's Note

So I heard you like stories so I put some stories in your stories, so you can read while you read.

Hope people like the set up so far, my next release for this should have about 3 chapters out at once.