Luna paced up and down the Canterlot Throne Room, her silver clad hoof-steps echoing loudly on the marble floor. Not even eight hours ago she had felt it, a powerful torrent of magic had come from seemingly out of nowhere and interrupted her watch over the night. There had been no visible signs or disturbances, but the feeling was there all the same. The worst part was that it had come from the direction of Ponyville, where Twilight Sparkle and the other Elements of Harmony lived. She had no idea what the strange power meant but hopefully the Elements of Harmony could keep it at bay until she and her sister could get there. The messenger would hopefully reach Celestia soon; she had sent the message almost immediately after sensing the strange energy.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the gold trimmed doors leading into the throne room burst open and Princess Celestia strode in.

“Tia!” Luna called out running to meet her sister. “I didn't think you would get my message this soon.”

Her sister met her in the middle of the room and they embraced letting their necks brush each other for a moment.

“I didn't.” Celestia said pulling away and meeting Luna's eyes. “I left to come back as soon as I felt some strange, powerful magic. The trade negotiations with the Griffon Kingdom will have to wait.”

Striding past Luna, Celestia went through a side door that led into her personal chambers. A stack of unopened messages were piled up in the center of the room and she began to sort through them. Finding the one she was looking for, she broke the seal and read it.

Luna waited patiently while her sister read the letter she assumed was from Twilight Sparkle. Hopefully it would provide an explanation as to what exactly that strange energy was. Tossing the letter aside, Celestia prepared an ink bottle and parchment to send a return message.

“Luna, please prepare a chariot for us. We must head to Ponyville immediately. I will explain on the way. It's not as bad as I feared, but we must meet with this being if we are to be sure.”

“Yes, dear sister” Luna replied, turning to relay the message to the guards stationed outside the throne room. Whatever this new creature was, if it hurt Twilight Sparkle or her friends it was going to regret it.

I blinked at my reflection in the mirror; it was weird seeing the yellow pegasus follow every movement I made. I raised a hoof, so did she. I tilted my head to the side, she did as well. What was even more strange though, were the feelings this body was giving me right now. I had never been physically attracted to the ponies in the show. Sure I liked them as characters, but that was the extent of it. Right now though, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes from exploring my new body a bit more freely. Just look at the round curves of this flan-

Shaking that thought out of my head, I focused on the two wings that had sprouted from my back. The feelings coming from them were as alien as the rest of my body. It was like two arms had grown out of my back. I could feel every feather of them and if I focused, I could even move them slightly. I didn't seem to have full control over them yet though, it felt kind of like they were asleep and my brain was trying to figure out how to wake them up. I guess flying is out of the question then. Being able to fly might have even made this whole situation worth it.

Turning towards the couch, I could see Twilight had finished explaining the situation to Fluttershy. She looked much calmer compared to the panic stricken state she had been in a few minutes ago. Then again, wouldn't anyone be panic stricken after watching your friend turn into a mirror image of you right before your eyes? Fluttershy looked up and met my eyes. She didn't look afraid or angry like I had expected. Instead she seemed more... sympathetic?

“Oh you poor thing,” Fluttershy said rising from the sofa and walking towards me. “I had no idea. You must be terrified right now.” I stood stiffly as Fluttershy embraced me and gave me a light pat on the back with one of her wings. “Don't worry, Twilight will find a way to send you home.”

Wait, hold on a minute, Fluttershy was comforting me? I started to object and raised a hoof to push her away. Instead however, it dropped to my side and I leaned into her hug. Tears started leaking from my eyes and I let her support me as small sobs wracked my body. All the emotions from the previous day and this morning appeared to have caught up with me. What's wrong with me? I never get this emotional over anything. As hard as I tried though, the tears wouldn't stop, so I buried my muzzle into Fluttershy's mane.It's probably just this body.Yeah that must be it, this body is just more emotional than I'm used to.

After a few minutes, my crying stopped and I pulled away from Fluttershy, using a hoof to wipe the tear stains from my eyes.

“I'm sorry about that.” I nodded towards the damp spot on Fluttershy's coat.

“Oh it's nothing really,” Fluttershy gave me a warm smile. “Sometimes you just need to let your feelings out. It's not good for anypony to let them bottle up inside.”

“I know,” I replied. “I'm just not used to crying is all.”

“Oh I understand.” Fluttershy nodded. “A lot of the stallions around here are the same way. They don't want to show any weakness because they're worried other ponies will think less of them. It's not really a bad thing to not want to cry. It can actually be a good thing sometimes when you are trying to keep other ponies calm or comfort them. However, you can't just ignore the feelings and pretend they don't exist. If you do that, then you're just pushing your problems away and that's not healthy at all.”

Fluttershy and her infinite wisdom. I knew I was worried, I was worried I wouldn't get home and that I would be stuck here as a pony for the rest of my life. I was afraid at the recent changes to my body and what my transformation into Fluttershy meant. In fact, how did I even transform into Fluttershy in the first place?

Almost as if she could read my mind, Twilight stepped in front of me. “I'm going to try a few more detection spells to see what's changed about your body since last night.” I gave her a blank look. “I mean besides the obvious,” She laughed nervously.

Twilight's horn glowed purple and a wave of magic passed through me. “Wow...” she looked startled, “The magical energy in your body from last night is almost completely depleted.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I asked nervously.

“Yes and no.” Twilight looked as puzzled as I felt and another wave of magic passed through me. “If your body completely ran out of magic then the spell that created it would have dissipated. That being said, it seems like the energy that had built up is mostly gone. I don't think you'll be be able to transform again.”

“So is she, or um... he, stuck looking like me?” Fluttershy spoke up quietly.

“For now it seems that way.” Twlight gave her friend a comforting look. “At least until we figure out how she, er he, was able to transform. Or until we find a way to send him back home.”

“Well that's just great!” my new voice came out in a soft shriek. It grated on me how feminine my voice was and their constant use of she and her wasn't helping either. I knew that I was a female at the moment, but I still felt male mentally. “I use my only transformation and I can't even get stuck as a stallion.” It was like using a get out of jail free card I didn't even know I had. Only after getting out of jail, I landed on chance and was sent back to jail without being allowed to pass go and get 200 dollars.

“I'm sorry,” Fluttershy's ears drooped and she seemed to shrink in on herself.

“It's not your fault.” I seem to be saying that a lot lately. “I was resigned to being stuck as Twilight, but knowing I could have at least been male...” I shook my head, looking away from them. From the expressions they gave me, it didn't seem like they understood exactly what the big deal was. Part of me wished Spike was there right now, he would at least empathize with me a little bit. “I'm a completely different species, on a completely different world and it would have been nice to at least be the correct gender is all. I'm just really uncomfortable about it and I've only been here for less than a day.”

“I know something that might help,” Fluttershy spoke with enthusiasm. “What you need is something to help you relax a bit. You should come to the spa with Rarity and me.”

“Oh no,” I said backing away from her. “That sounds like the exact opposite of relaxing right now. Besides, I can't go outside looking like this.” I gestured a hoof at my current body.

Twilight nodded, “I have to agree with him. Don't you think it would be strange if people saw two Fluttershys walking around Ponyville together? Besides, I really wanted to ask Sam more about his world today.”

“I don't think Sam really needs a lot of questions right now Twilight. A little relaxation might even help him answer them better.”

“Uh, hello,” I waved a hoof at them. “There is still the problem of two Fluttershys.”

“You know, I might have an idea for that,” Twilight turned toward one of the bookshelves.

Two hours later and Fluttershy and I were walking through the center of Ponyville together. “I can't believe I'm doing this,” I sighed keeping my eyes on the dirt road in front of me. It was much easier to walk after Fluttershy's lessons. After a quick breakfast of a few apples, Fluttershy had taken to teaching me how to walk while Twilight searched for a spell to solve our two Fluttershy dilemma. She had said to focus less on the steps I was taking and more on letting my body just do what felt natural. It seemed to work, as after a few laps around the library I had a handle on walking.

Looking down I gazed at the blue ribbon tied around my neck. Twilight had found a spell for disguising objects and had gotten the idea to use it to disguise me. She couldn't attach the spell to my body, due to its unstable nature, but she could attach it to something I could wear. As long as I wore the ribbon anyone who looked at me would see a pegasus pony who looked similar to Fluttershy but instead of a pink mane and tail and a yellow coat, they would see a yellow mane and tail with a pink coat. Twilight had also changed the cutie-mark to resemble a blue bunny. Overall it wasn't the most elaborate disguise but it would keep me from standing out like a sore thumb.

It was strange walking through Ponyville. I hadn't seen this place except from the show and having it all right here in front of me was insane. Colorful buildings rose on each side and there were ponies everywhere, some of whom I recognized. I kept expecting them all to point at me and scream, then start running around like chickens with their heads cut off. None did however, as every pony either didn't pay attention to us or gave us a polite nod or a hello as we passed.

Fluttershy didn't seem even slightly offbeat and she hummed to herself as we walked through the marketplace towards the Carousel Boutique. We would meet with Rarity there, then head to the Ponyville spa together. Twilight had declined Fluttershy's invitation to join us and had decided to stay back in order to do more research on dimensional spells and check to see if Princess Celestia had wrote back yet.

I had tried to decline again myself, but after scaring Fluttershy half to death, I didn't have the heart to turn her down. Plus the idea of spending a little time with her seemed... exciting. While I wasn't too thrilled with the whole situation, I had to admit how cool it was. Here I was, in Equestria, which had not only turned out to be real, but seemed to be exactly like the show somehow. If not for the whole new body and the fact that I might be stuck here forever, I might have actually liked the idea of spending a few days here.

Stopping with Fluttershy, I stared up at the large brightly decorated building before us. Fluttershy raised a hoof to knock on the purple door and it swung open almost immediately, revealing three fillies I recognized. They were bigger than I thought they would be, though I was a lot smaller than I had been. As a human they would have barely come up to my knees in height.

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders…” I whispered to myself not noticing the strange look Fluttershy gave me.

“Hi Fluttershy!” Sweetie Belle spoke up “You here to see my sister?”

Fluttershy smiled to the three fillies “Yes, your sister and I have plans to go to the spa together. Is she here?”

“Yeah she's probably in her room getting ready. I'll go tell her you're here. You can come in if you want.” She turned around and ran down the hallway.

“Yuck, who wants to go to the spa and do all that girly stuff anyway?” Scootaloo said, sticking her tongue out like the words left a bad taste in her mouth.

“I hear that,” I replied stepping into the main room of the building behind Fluttershy. I gave the fillies a warm smile. I loved kids, besides the whole wrecking computers part, and these three had been some of my favorite characters from the show. Seeing them standing in front of me was very surreal. I've got to stop thinking of them as characters. It made them seem insignificant when I thought of them like that. They're living breathing creatures here, not just cartoons.

The two fillies remaining noticed me watching them and Applebloom stepped in front of me, looking between Fluttershy and myself as if comparing us. “Excuse me miss, but who are you? I don't reckon I've seen you around Ponyville before. Are you new here?”

Before I could respond Fluttershy stepped in. “Um, yes Applebloom, she's my friend from, uh, out of town. She's visiting Ponyville for a few days.” I took notice of how she was careful not to lie to them. I didn't think Fluttershy would be comfortable with lying to children.

Scootaloo stepped forward excitedly, giving my wings a glance. “Oh where are you from? Are you from Cloudsdale? Have you ever met the Wonderbolts? Have you met Rainbow Dash yet? She's the best flyer in all of Equestria!”

A bit stunned at her sudden wave of questions, I paused deciding how I am going to answer them. I'm saved however, by a white unicorn with a royal purple mane entering the room. Rarity stepped toward Fluttershy, she looked even more magnificent than she did on the show. Her mane looked freshly brushed and she didn't have a hair on her coat out of place.

“My apologies for the wait Fluttershy, I was busy finishing a few orders for pick up later today and I... Oh, hello,” She paused having just noticed me. “I'm sorry, how rude of me not to introduce myself. I’m Rarity, and you are?”

“Oh, my name? It's uh- it's Sam, short for Samantha,” I winced at the name and realized how odd it will sound, even using the female version of my real name. Most pony names seemed to be based off of objects or adjectives. If anyone asked me what a Samantha was I didn't have urban dictionary to search for a response.

“It's a pleasure to meet you Samantha,” She didn't seem surprised by my name at all. “Will you be joining Fluttershy and I on our trip to the spa today?”

“Yes well, Fluttershy invited me, but I understand if it's a hassle. I can just head back to the Library.” I started to turn towards the door but Rarity put a hoof out to stop me.

“Nonsense, any friend of Fluttershy's is a friend of mine. I would love it if you joined us at the spa. It's been a while since a new mare came to town and I'm sure Fluttershy and I would love to have the extra company. It'll even be my treat, to welcome you to Ponyville.”

“Oh no, that's ok.” I hadn't thought about how I would pay for the spa trip and I didn't want to accept any handouts. “You don't have to do that.”

“Nonsense darling, it would be my pleasure.” She turned back to the hallway. “Just let me grab my saddlebags and we can be off. Oh and Sweetie Belle, I have a few chores I would like you to do before you go and play with your friends.”

I turned and looked for the three fillies but they were nowhere to be found. The front door behind me clicked shut and I thought I heard three sets of hooves gallop down the road.

Rarity let out a sigh, then turned back to the hallway. Within minutes she had her saddlebags and after locking up the store, we all went down the road towards the spa together. I let the two mares take the lead as I contemplated my current situation. My thoughts drifted and I found myself staring at the backs of the two mares in front of me, watching their flanks move as they walked.

A strange sensation gripped my wings and I felt them slowly lift on their own accord. What the? The sensation felt familiar for some reason and I blushed as I realized what it was. Oh no, you've got to be kiddingme. I tried to mentally force my wings back down but I still had very little control over the new appendages that were now flaring out to either side of me.

Luckily, neither Rarity nor Fluttershy turned around and after a few moments of staring at clouds and counting backwards, my wings thankfully returned to their position against my sides. Well that was one mystery from the fandom confirmed. So pegasus ponies wings really do react that way when they get aroused... what if it happens mid-flight?

Looking to my left, I saw a familiar pony with a dark gray coat and a light blue and white striped mane and tail. He looked me over as we passed and my face flushed as he gazed at my flank. I considered turning around and beating him to a pulp, when I noticed Fluttershy and Rarity had already entered a large tent-shaped building. It was maroon with gold ornaments at the peaks and the sign hanging over the door showed a happy cream colored mare with a flowing golden mane and tail. A horseshoe hovered in the air next to her and was surrounded by green flowers. Overall it looked like the type of place I would rather avoid going into.

After contemplating my options, I considered leaving until I heard Rarity call my name. Sighing, I stepped through the doorway and gazed about the circular building.

The building was a lot larger than it had looked on the outside. The entrance had a small window where Rarity was talking to a bright blue mare with a cotton candy pink mane. She passed over a stack of bits and we were led by another mare who had the reverse color scheme of the previous one. She told us her name was Aloe and that she and her sister Lotus owned the spa. Though I think she said this more for my benefit, since Rarity and Fluttershy probably already knew their names.

The main area she led us to was divided off into sections by yellow dividers. There was a large hot tub against the far wall with what looked liked massage tables set up nearby. The other half of the room was divided into smaller sections with more dividers. After leading us behind one set of dividers, Aloe gave us each a white robe to change into.

“Why do we need a robe?” I asked, not even sure how to put it on. Fluttershy finished putting hers on and helped me with mine. The whole time I had been in Equestria, the thought of clothing hadn’t once crossed my mind. However, now that we were given some, the fact that I had been naked the whole day stood out to me.

“Darling these are luxury robes,” Rarity said while wrapping a towel around her mane. “Not only are they extremely soft but they help keep your coat clean during the hooficure and while you’re getting your mane and tail done.”

“Hoofiwha?” I replied as we were led over to a series of purple seats that resembled lawn chairs.

The next few hours were some of the most awkward and uncomfortable in my life. While everything the two sisters and their assistants did to us was very relaxing, it also highlighted the differences between my current body and my human one. The hooficure was extremely unsettling as they filed them and buffed out the scratches. It was a lot like clipping your nails but instead of 20 there were only four big ones. The massage was nice, but it felt weird having that huge stallion rubbing my back. I had to stop him at one point when he had started to massage my flanks and lower legs. That had caused my wings to flare out again and Fluttershy and Rarity had chuckled at my embarrassment. The stallion had seemed almost prideful from the situation he had caused.

We had just finished the mud mask, something I would have refused at gunpoint under normal circumstances, but Rarity had insisted calling it 'simply divine', and were being led toward the large hot tub. Taking our robes off, I struggled out of mine like it was a straight jacket, we lowered ourselves into the warm water. After a few minutes of silence Rarity spoke up.

“So Samantha, Fluttershy mentioned you haven’t been in Ponyville that long. Have any of the stallions caught your eye? I saw how Thunderlane looked at you on our way here.” She gave me a wink.

She saw that? “Oh no, I'm not really interested in that sort of thing right now.” That was more than true. “I'm just staying for a few days, then I'll be heading back home.” Hopefully it would only be a few days at most.

“Oh that's too bad darling, you simply must let me make you a dress before you leave though.”

“No that's ok, I don't wear dresses.”

“But you would look simply ravishing in a good dress. You probably have the same proportions as Fluttershy here and she looked marvelous in the dress I made her for the Gala. It might even help you catch the eye of that special somepony.”

“No, really thank you, but I don't want a dress.” I shuddered and gave her a pointed look.

“I simply won't take no for an answer dear. You must promise to let me make you a dress before you leave. It will give me the perfect chance to try out my craft on a new pony.” She gave me an even sharper look that said she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Realizing that I was fighting a battle I had no chance of winning, I surrendered. “All right, you can make me a dress before I leave.” I shuddered again, “but I don't really have any money to pay for it right now.”

“I wouldn't accept any if you did,” Rarity said. She seemed happy I had finally relented. “It will be my gift to you. I can even experiment with some new designs I’ve been working on.”

“Thank you,” I said politely even though I felt more annoyed at the mare than grateful. Relax, she's only doing this to be kind to someone she thinks needs help. Don't be a jerk to her, she doesn't know your real situation and you can use all the help you can get. “Really though, thank you. This spa trip was relaxing if a bit... awkward.” I gave Fluttershy and Rarity a smile each.

“Don't mention it dear, it's what friends are for.” Rarity smiled back then turned to engage Fluttershy in conversation. The purple towel on her head bobbed as she talked.

Letting the two mares converse, I settled back into the hot water closing my eyes as I basked in the warmth flowing into me. This really was relaxing and, after yesterday's events, I enjoyed just sitting and letting my worries soak out of me. Hearing the water splash, I opened my eyes to see Rarity and Fluttershy step out of the hot tub.

“Don't mind us Samantha, I just remembered that I have to pick up some food from the marketplace if Sweetie Belle and I are going to have anything to make meals with for the next few days.”

“I need to go home and feed angel,” Fluttershy said. “He gets particularly cranky if I'm late making his salad.”

“But don't you worry about us.” Rarity said while drying her mane. “Stay here as long as you want, it's already paid for.”

“Don't mind if I do,” I said settling back down and closing my eyes again letting my mind drift. Rarity and Fluttershy finished drying off and I could hear them leave a few minutes later. Yawning, I let the relaxing feeling of the hot tub take over I dozed off.

“Miss Fluttershy?”

My eyes darted open and I found myself staring into a pair of London Blue Topaz colored eyes.

“Sorry to disturb you but we are about to close for the day.” Aloe said, setting a towel down on a nearby bench.

“Oh, sorry, I guess I fell asleep,” I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head with a hoof. Looking down I noticed that the ribbon was gone and my appearance had reverted back to Fluttershy’s. It must have fallen off while I was sleeping. Good thing she isn't here right now or this situation would be really bad.

Aloe nodded and left to give me a bit of privacy. Stepping out of the hot tub, I dried off as best as I could. It's not easy using hooves to handle a towel but I managed to get my fur from a damp to slightly wet state. Looking out the window I could see the sun had gone down. I can't believe I slept the whole day here, I've got to get back to the library.

Walking towards the door I waved goodbye to the two sisters and stepped out into the cool night. As I stepped into the street, a shadow fell over me and I could feel someone’s gaze drill into my back. Turning slowly, I stared breathless into a set of fierce blue eyes.

Standing in front of me was the tallest pony I'd seen so far. She was easily a foot taller than me and her midnight blue mane flowed around her, framing a regal face. A dark crown rested upon her head and a matching necklace with a white crescent moon hung around her neck. Her hooves were clad in silver that shined in the moonlight. I recognized who she was immediately and I must say, the cartoon didn't do Luna justice. There was a palpable energy that seemed to flow from her and she carried a presence of power and authority. Right now I was less focused on her presence and more on the hawk like gaze she was giving me. If looks could kill, hers right then would have been enough to destroy all of Ponyville.

“Yes, I am Princess Luna” She broke the silence and I realized I had spoken her name out loud. “You will come with me, Sam.” She turned and gestured with her horn for me to walk in front of her “We have a lot to talk about.”

Author's Note

Let me know what you think of this chapter. What am I doing well and what do I need to work on? All feedback is appreciated and it encourages me to write faster. I'm trying to keep an update rate of once every week or two.

Thanks for the 250+ up votes and almost to 500 favorites. That's so awesome!

Thanks again to my Editors/Pre-readers. They are awesome!
CheesewedgeFTW, Edukas, Lyna_BrushStroke,Sandvich Brony